TMNT 2003: Mikey's Adventure in Oz
by Clovee93
Summary: Takes place sometime after the episode 'Wedding Bells and Bytes'. When Mikey falls asleep after being injected with a general anaesthetic as part of his operation to remove his tonsils, he wakes up to find himself in an adventure within the land of Oz. Inspired by the film Wizard of Oz and the Rugrats episode "No Place Like Home". I do not own TMNT 2003 or Wizard of Oz.
1. Chapter 1-Operation Preparations

TMNT 2003: Mikey's Adventure in Oz

_Takes place sometime after the episode 'Wedding Bells and Bytes'. __When Mikey falls asleep after being injected with a general anaesthetic as part of his operation to remove his tonsils, he wakes up to find himself in an adventure within the land of Oz. Inspired by the film Wizard of Oz and the Rugrats episode "No Place Like Home"._

_I do not own TMNT 2003 or Wizard of Oz._

Chapter 1-Operation Preparations and Support

"Cough…cough…cough…Owww…"

Mikey cringed in pain and held his very sore throat after his coughing fit had ended before he laid his head back down on his pillow with a groan.

"Are you ok, Mikey? How are you feeling?" Leo asked his sick brother as he approached his bed to check on him when he and Raph walked by the infirmary door and heard the sound of coughing.

"…Never better… Ngh!" Mikey managed to say despite the pain that he was in.

"Yeah, ya sound great, bro…" Raph said in a concerned and sarcastic tone after he heard the croakiness and pain in his little brother's voice.

All of this started about a week ago when Mikey began to feel a sore sensation in his throat, which at first was diagnosed as just a random infection by Donnie, but as time went by his condition worsened to a point where he wasn't able to swallow his food and would only drink cold fluids, and he was also starting to feel warmer in temperature.

After another check-over from Donnie, it turned out that Mikey had developed Tonsillitis, which was at a stage where it would not get better with antibiotics alone, meaning that his tonsils would have to be removed as soon as possible to prevent his condition from getting worse. This led to the present day, with Mikey being on bed rest and his immediate older brother Donnie preparing him for the operation to come in the next half hour once Leatherhead arrived.

"I wish I could give you something to drink to soothe your throat, Mikey, but that would only delay the upcoming operation for another few hours, and I also can't risk in giving you painkillers before I administer the anaesthetic. You'll have to tough it out until it's all over, bro…" Donnie said to his little brother sadly whilst he was double-checking Mikey's vitals on the monitors that were attached to his body.

"I know...you're right, bro…" Mikey replied with a sigh of frustration and disappointment since he was starting to feel fed up with having to wait with this sore throat for a bit longer. Leo noticed this and felt sorry for the orange-banded turtle, so he sat down on the edge of Mikey's bed and placed a comforting hand on his little brother's shoulder before he spoke with a warm smile.

"Don't worry, Mikey, it won't be much longer until Leatherhead arrives and the operation will be done in no time. Hey, once this is all over, you can have as much ice cream you want."

This made Mikey look up at his oldest brother with a surprised look on his face before he developed a smile as he spoke.

"Really…!?"

"Yes, but you need to give your throat some time to recover a bit after the operation first, bro…" Donnie said with an amused but thankful smile towards Leo for cheering up his little brother after he spoke to him. Mikey nodded with understanding, still wearing his smile before Raph spoke up next with a cocky smirk.

"Are ya sure ya want him ta recover quickly, bros? I kinda like it ta be quiet a bit longer fa a change, especially with da hockey game dat Casey told us about coming up in a few days."

Mikey glared at him and was about to respond to his brother's comment before Leo beat him to it to keep him from talking too much.

"Raph, you're not helping and you're being unfair to your brother who is not feeling his best!"

"Yeah, and we have already told you that we can't go to the game with Mikey sick like this," Donnie said firmly whilst holding a thermometer up to show Raph that Mikey's temperature was still higher than normal.

"Geez, calm down, guys...! Can't ya take a joke? Besides, he's hardly helped us out in da past week as always, whether he's sick or not! Might as well make him our team's sidekick or mascot since they're just as useless!" Raph bit back firmly as he looked from Leo to Mikey when he said the last sentence, causing Mikey to gasp in shock and look down with tears developing in his eyes.

"Raphael! How could you say that to him, especially when he's too sick to defend himself!?" Donnie said with anger in his voice before he tended to Mikey to try and calm him down.

"Go outside and keep an eye out for Leatherhead with Master Splinter, since you're just making things difficult for Mikey!" Leo told his red-banded brother firmly with his leader-like voice.

"Fine, whatever…" Raph said in a huff as he turned away and was about to leave before he looked back at his now crying brother, causing a frown to develop, and the feelings of regret and guilt were beginning to build in his heart before he left the infirmary altogether with a sigh.

After seeing his hot-headed brother leave, Leo turned to look back at Mikey with concern on his face before he watched on as Donnie tried to comfort his little brother whilst gently wiping his tears from his face.

"Don't listen to him, Mikey. Raph's just ticked off because he's tired of fighting against the increased number of bad guys lately," Donnie said softly.

"That's right, little brother, he never watches what he says until after he's said it," Leo said in agreement as he walked towards his little brother.

"B-But he's right; it's my fault that you all come home all banged up from fights during the past week…all cos I'm stuck in bed with a stupid throat problem!" Mikey said firmly with more hot tears falling from his eyes before he cringed and held his throat in pain again.

"Careful, Mikey…don't try to talk too much or you'll make your condition worse," Donnie warned him softly whilst rubbing his brother's arm in comfort before Leo spoke up next.

"It's not your fault, Mikey; things like this happen and they are beyond our control. You mean a lot to us as a brother and a ninja, not a sidekick or mascot, so don't be so hard on yourself, ok?"

Mikey turned his head to look at Leo after he spoke before he gave him a small nod and then sniffled as he lowered his head, with doubts about himself still weighing heavily on his mind. Leo noticed this straight away and he immediately embraced his little brother into a supportive hug just before Mikey began to sob in his arms.

"Shhh…Shhh…. calm down, little brother…everything's going to be ok…" Leo said soothingly as he gently rocked back and forth with Mikey in his arms to try and calm him down. Donnie watched on in sadness before a past memory flashed in his mind.

"Oh, I almost forgot! April brought a little something for you, Mikey, to help cheer you up," he said as he went over to his desk and picked up a small box with an orange-coloured ribbon wrapped around it on all sides, and then turned to walk back towards Mikey's bed.

Leo loosened the hug to allow Mikey to slowly lift his head from Leo's shoulder and he heard Mikey sniffle as he turned to look at the box presented to him.

"W-What is it?" He asked with a raspy voice due to his sore throat and the amount of crying he did.

"Well, if you open it you'll find out. It seems April wanted to keep it a surprise judging by the way the ribbon has been wrapped around the box," Donnie answered as he slowly handed Mikey the present into his hands.

Mikey carefully undid the ribbon and lifted the box's lid to reveal something that made his eyes widen in surprise; inside the box was a small kitten plushie which featured ginger-coloured fur and green-coloured eyes, and it also had a red-coloured collar around its neck with a note tucked under it that said;

"_Dear Mikey,_

_Here's a little friend to keep you company and help to keep your chin up before and after your operation._

_Get well soon,_

_April xxx_"

Mikey smiled at the message before he gently took out his cuddly kitten from the box and then gave it a hug, causing his brothers to look on with heart-warming smiles on their faces.

"I love it! It looks just like Klunk!" Mikey said after he looked back at his gift with happy tears in his eyes.

"It is adorable, and it does have a resemblance to Klunk too," Leo said as he gently stroked the stuffed animal's fur.

"Yes, it does. I think April knew that you would like it since the real Klunk will not be allowed inside the infirmary before, during and after the operation due to the risk of contaminating the equipment and room and distracting me and Leatherhead throughout the operation," Donnie explained before Mikey nodded in understanding.

"Can you tell April that I said thanks for the gift since I might not be able to speak for a while after the operation's done?" Mikey asked his brothers, knowing that he wouldn't be able to speak to her personally after the operation.

"Of course we will, Mikey. We'll tell her after you've recovered a bit from the operation," Donnie answered with a warm smile.

A moment later, the turtles heard the infirmary door open and they turned their heads towards it to see Master Splinter enter through it with Leatherhead followed close behind him.

"Donatello, Leatherhead has arrived," Master Splinter said before he moved aside to allow Leatherhead to move forward a couple of steps with a smile on his face as he said, "Hello, my friends".

"Thank you, Master Splinter, and hello to you too, Leatherhead…Leo, we're going to start the operation soon so you'll have to wait outside," Donnie said with his 'Doctor Don' voice as he turned to his blue-banded brother.

"I know, Donnie... I'll see you after the operation, Mikey. Don't worry; you'll be just fine and everything will go smoothly, ok?" Leo said softly to his little brother as he gave him another hug.

"Thanks, bro…See you later…" Mikey replied after he broke away from the hug, despite the anxiety and fear building up inside his heart.

Donnie and Leatherhead watched on as Leo stood up from sitting on the edge of Mikey's bed and walked towards the doorway to leave the infirmary whilst waving to his brothers and Leatherhead as he left.

"Alright, Mikey, Leatherhead is going to administer the anaesthetic now which will be done intravenously, so just relax, ok?" Donnie said gently to his little brother before he moved slightly from his sitting spot on Mikey's bed to allow Leatherhead to inject the anaesthetic carefully into Mikey's arm.

Mikey flinched and hissed as soon as the needle entered his skin and into his vein, but Donnie was there to help him stay calm by holding his hand in his own and squeezing it gently whilst Leatherhead injected the fluid into his vein and then carefully removed the needle from his arm shortly after.

"Well done, bro. You might start to feel sleepy in a couple of minutes, but don't worry; I'll be here to make sure that you're completely asleep before we start the operation," Donnie said whilst giving his brother's hand another squeeze.

"Can my little cat…stay here with me until…I'm asleep too?" Mikey asked tiredly to his purple-banded brother as he was slowly starting to feel the effects of the anaesthetic.

"Of course he can, Mikey, and I'll put him in a safe place nearby so that I know where he is when I return him back to you after the operation is over," Donnie answered softly with a warm smile.

Mikey returned the smile before he yawned and his eye began to droop as his vision started to become blurry.

"Are you feeling sleepy, Mikey?" Donnie asked softly whilst rubbing his thumb on Mikey's hand.

"Mmm-hmm…" Mikey managed to reply before his body relaxed even more and he managed to hear Donnie mumble something to Leatherhead just before his eyes closed fully, causing his vision to become shrouded in darkness.


	2. Chapter 2-I'm in WHERE?

Chapter 2-I'm in WHERE!?

Mikey didn't know how long he was asleep for, but he began to stir as he was suddenly woken up by the sounds of soft bird song and the feeling of warmth from the bright sun above him.

Wait, the sun…!?

When his eyes snapped open and his vision was fully clear, he could see a clear blue sky and as he sat up from where he was laid, he turned his head from left to right and saw that he was no longer in the lair's infirmary, but instead, he was in a place outside that was surrounded by tall trees and colourful flowers.

"What the shell? What am I doing out here, or should I say _how _did I get out here?" He said to himself as he looked around more in his surroundings. It was then that Mikey noticed that his throat was not hurting as he spoke anymore.

"Hey, my throat…it feels a lot better now! But…where's Donnie…and Leatherhead?" Mikey said before he looked around again to see if he could see anyone he knew, but with no success.

"Where is everyone? Don't tell me…Am I _dead_!?" Mikey said in a panic due to his theory becoming a possibility since he was better but all alone at the same time in an unfamiliar place.

"Meow…"

Mikey paused for a moment after he heard a noise coming from behind him before he slowly turned his body around fully to see what it was.

It was then that he saw a small cat that looked strongly familiar to his own little cat Klunk. In fact, it looked just like him with the orange-coloured fur and green eyes!

"Klunk? Is that you!?" Mikey said in surprise before the little orange ball of fluff walked quickly towards his master with another meow, and Mikey immediately picked him up and snuggled him close.

"Hey, little buddy! I'm glad you're here with me…" He said in relief since he was no longer alone.

However, this made Mikey feel even more confused; at first, he thought that he had died during his tonsil operation and ended up in a peaceful placed but after seeing Klunk he knew that his little friend is still alive and well and is at home in the lair waiting for him to wake up from the operation. With all of this in mind, Mikey decided to walk further into the forest, and then he came across a clearing where he soon found himself in the middle of a village of small houses, causing his eyes to widen and gasp in shock and awe.

"Klunk, I don't think we're in New York anymore…"

"_Hello there, strange turtle creature and cat…_"

A female voice echoed throughout the village and it was a moment after that where Mikey saw a large pink bubble floating down towards him. Once it landed, the bubble faded to reveal a young woman wearing a beautiful pink dress and a sparkling tiara on her head. When Mikey looked closer, he looked at her in surprise and shock because she looked just like his human friend April!

"W-What the…April!?" He questioned in a stutter before he watched the woman giggle and smile at him over what he just said.

"April? Oh, no…, my name is Glinda and I am the Good Witch of the North, and who might you be?" The woman said as she slowly approached Mikey whilst still wearing her kind smile.

"Oh…err…my name is Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey for short, and this is my cat Klunk," Mikey answered nervously whilst Klunk meowed at the woman as Glinda got closer to inspect him further.

"Ah…well, it's nice to meet you, Mikey. I see that you are not a bad witch, so that means you are a good witch, correct?" Glinda asked sweetly.

"Huh? No, I'm not a witch, I'm a ninja turtle! Besides, I can't be a witch because I'm not a girl," Mikey answered before he heard the sounds of laughter around him, causing him to look behind and around him to find nothing there. "What was that…?"

"Those were the Munchkins, who are the main inhabitants in the village of Munchkinland in the land of Oz, and they are laughing because they have never met or seen a 'ninja turtle' before. Also, they are hiding because they were threatened by Karai the Wicked Witch of the East until you came along and put an end to her terrible ways," Glinda explained before she pointed her wand towards a badly broken house where a hand, which was holding a golden necklace with an orange-coloured gemstone in the middle of the gold round-shaped pendant, could be seen sticking out from under the house.

Mikey looked on in surprise and then in horror at the sight before he turned to speak to Glinda in a panicked tone. "W-What!? No, I didn't do this! I never killed anyone before, and that isn't my house!"

"Oh, but you did and it is thanks to you that the Munchkins are now free from her rule. Come on out, it is alright, come and meet the one who saved you all from the Wicked Witch of the East," Glinda said before small-sized people began to appear from their hiding places in the flower bushes and behind houses to see Mikey close up.

Mikey looked at the little munchkins as they surrounded him and he noticed that they looked like the miniature versions of the people of New York, including the Purple Dragons. The munchkins then began to cheer and thank him and his cat by breaking into song and dance throughout the village to celebrate the confirmation that the wicked witch is dead.

Suddenly, a thick puff of black smoke exploded in the middle of the village which caused the munchkins to scream and hide once more. When the smoke cleared, a tall male figure appeared and was wearing a helmet that looks similar to the Kuro Kabuto, a black-coloured cape, and metal armour that was covering most of his body, and he was also holding a dark staff that featured a gemstone on top that looked like the Foot Clan's emblem.

Despite feeling nervous and scared, Mikey immediately stood in front of Glinda and Klunk and took out his nun-chucks as the figure began to approach them with angry eyes after he saw what happened to the Wicked Witch of the East.

"W-Who is that!?" Mikey whispered shakily as he looked back at Glinda.

"That is the evil Warlord Shredder, the father of Karai," She answered back calmly before she made eye contact with the Warlord.

"My daughter…Who killed her!? Was it you, freak!?" Warlord Shredder said angrily.

"Shell no, I didn't do anything to her!" Mikey snapped back at him to defend his innocence.

"You lie…!" Warlord Shredder shouted before he raised his staff and was about to make a move when Glinda spoke up.

"Are you forgetting the Medallion of Light…?"

"The Medallion…yes! The Medallion…" Warlord Shredder said as he walked towards where the Wicked Witch of the East was killed and was about to reach for the golden necklace, but it suddenly vanishes away from his reach and the witch's hand curled up before it disappeared under the house.

"It's gone! Where is it!? Did you take it? If so, give it back to me!" The Warlord yelled out in anger as he turned back and moved towards Mikey and Glinda again.

"It's too late; Michelangelo has it now and there it shall stay," Glinda said as she pointed her wand at Mikey's chest to show that the medallion has indeed appeared around his neck.

Mikey gasped as looked from the medallion to Glinda in shock since he never knew until now that the medallion was magically passed onto him out of nowhere.

"How dare you!? That medallion's magic does not belong to a weakling like you!" The Warlord yelled out in rage before he charged towards him with his drawn-out sword, but his attack was suddenly countered back by a force field made by Glinda who raised her shining wand in order to create it to protect Mikey and Klunk. Then, Glinda blasted Warlord Shredder away from them by pushing her force field forward with immense strength, causing him to land hard on the ground before he growled at her.

"You cannot and will not lay a hand on Mikey, especially when he has the Medallion of Light with him. Now leave, monster, before I drop a house on you!" Glinda demanded with a fierce look on her face as she pointed her wand towards the Warlord as soon as he stood back up from the ground.

"Grr…Very well, I will bide my time…but I will get you next time, freak, and your little cat too! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" The Warlord warned Mikey before he was shrouded by dark smoke and disappeared into thin air.

A moment later, Glinda called out to the munchkins to let them know that it was now safe to come back out knowing that the Warlord was gone.

"Oh man…This isn't good…" Mikey said whilst trying to calm his rapid heartbeat down after the encounter he just had with the evil Warlord before he felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder and he turned his head to see that it was Glinda's before she spoke to him with a sad smile.

"Yes…I'm afraid you have made an enemy of the evil Warlord Shredder. You must leave at once if you are to get far, far away from him."

"But what should I do!? I want to get back home to my family and friends in New York…Can't you help me, please?" Mikey said in desperation before he watched Glinda shake her head slowly as she spoke.

"I am sorry, but I do not have the power strong enough to transport you back home, but the Great Wizard of Oz may be able to help you."

"Great Wizard of Oz? Really!? But is he a bad person too, like the Warlord Shredder?" Mikey questioned nervously.

"The Wizard is neither good or evil, but very mysterious. I am sure that he will help grant your wish to return home to your loved ones, Mikey," Glinda answered him with another kind smile.

"Wow, cool…so, where can I find him?" Mikey then asked with excitement and hope now building up within him.

"You will find him within the walls of Emerald City, and all you need to do to get there is to follow the yellow brick road…" Glinda answered him before she pointed her wand downwards to reveal the start of the yellow brick road.

Mikey walked a couple of steps to inspect the road himself before he turned around to talk to Glinda again with a grateful smile.

"Ok then, I'll do that. Thank you for everything, Glinda."

"Your welcome, Mikey, but I must advise you to protect the Medallion of Light with your life since it is a powerful artefact that can only be used by those who have a pure and kind heart. Good luck, my young friend…" Glinda replied with a warm smile of her own before she was surrounded by a pink bubble and began to float away into the sky, with the munchkins shouting their goodbyes whilst waving at her.

"Man…, people come and go in all sorts of ways here…" Mikey said in awe after he watched Glinda leave before he heard the munchkins giggle and chatter in agreement with what he said.

With Klunk in his arms, Mikey began to walk and follow the yellow brick road with the munchkins clearing the way and began chanting the words "Follow the yellow brick road" and sang "We're off to see the Wizard" to support him as he headed further out from Munchkinland.

They then waved goodbye to each other, with both sides knowing that Mikey's adventure was just beginning.


	3. Chapter 3-The Scarecrow

Chapter 3-The Scarecrow

Mikey continued his walk on the yellow brick road with his cat Klunk walking beside him after he decided to walk as well instead of spending the whole adventure in his master's arms.

As he got closer to a cornfield that he spotted from his position a few miles away, Mikey noticed that the road had split into two different directions, causing him and Klunk to stop in their tracks and think about what they should do next.

"Ok…which way do we go now? I'm sure that only one path goes to Emerald City, but which one?" Mikey said whilst he scratched his head in thought.

"I beg your pardon, but this way seems like a nice way…"

A voice was suddenly heard from within the cornfield and Mikey looked over there to see a scarecrow with its head low and its face hiding under its hat whilst pointing towards the right side pathway.

"Who said that?" Mikey said after he was startled by the voice and looked around to try and find it before he heard Klunk meow towards the scarecrow.

"Oh, don't be silly, Klunk; a scarecrow can't talk," Mikey said in denial.

"That way is pleasant way too…" The voice sounded again as the scarecrow quickly pointed from the right to the left side pathway.

"That's weird, I'm sure that scarecrow wasn't pointing the other way earlier," Mikey said with wide eyes.

"But I've seen people go both ways…" The voice sounded once again before the scarecrow lifted both his arms to point at both directions and he then lifted his head slowly to look at Mikey with a small smile developing on his face.

Mikey's eyes widened when he saw the scarecrow's face because it featured the purple mask and facial features of his immediate older brother Donatello!

"No way…Donnie!? What happened to you!?" Mikey questioned as he moved towards the fence close to the scarecrow.

"Who is this 'Donnie' fellow? I'm afraid I do not know you since I have never met a person like you until now…" The scarecrow replied, causing Mikey's eyes to widen even more.

"So it was you who talked earlier, wasn't it?" He asked before he watched as the Scarecrow shook his head 'no' and then nodded 'yes' as his answer instead of speaking.

"Err, are you doing that on purpose or can't you make up your mind, dude?" Mikey asked in confusion.

"That's the trouble; I can't make up my mind, because I only have straw in my head…meaning that I haven't got a brain," The scarecrow answered sadly.

"But hang on; if you haven't got a brain, how can you talk?" Mikey asked in confusion again.

"I don't know, but there are some people who speak a lot even without a brain, right?" Donnie answered with a small smile.

"Yeah, I can't argue with that. Well, my name is Michelangelo but you can call me Mikey for short, and this is my pet cat Klunk," Mikey said as he introduced himself and his cat to the scarecrow.

"Nice to meet you both! I do not have a name, but I do like the name 'Donnie' that you called me earlier. Sounds like a smart name…" The scarecrow said before he went into deep thought about the name Mikey said.

"Well, I'm fine with calling you Donnie since you look just like my older brother Donatello with the purple mask on your face," Mikey said happily.

"Really!? Oh, thank you…I finally have a name of my own!" Donnie said with joy bursting from his heart after Mikey had given him a name.

"No problem, dude. By the way, how are you doing since you're attached to a tall wooden stick?" Mikey asked as a change of subject.

"Oh, not very well; I've been stuck on this pole for a long time and it's terribly uncomfortable…" Donnie answered miserably whilst he tried to get loose from the pole.

Mikey felt bad for the scarecrow version of Donnie since he was struggling to get free from a place where he was positioned for a long time, so he decided to help him out by going over to him and saying, "Don't worry, bro; I'll help you get down from there."

"Oh, that's very kind of you…very kind…" Donnie said gratefully after he heard that Mikey would help him get free.

However, Mikey struggled to untie the knot that was keeping Donnie in place, but Donnie hinted that he could get free if he pulled the lever downwards to get him loose. As soon as Mikey did what he said, Donnie fell from the pole and began to slide down towards the fence, causing to hit himself on the face.

"Oof!" Donnie said after the impact.

"Whoa, you ok, bro!?" Mikey shouted as he ran towards his brother look-alike to see if wasn't badly hurt.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Man, it's good to be free-eeee!" Donnie said as he got up before he clumsily jumped over the fence and landed on his bottom, resulting in some of his straw stuffing to fall out.

"Oh! There goes some of me again!" Donnie said with a little laugh before he grabbed the stuffing and began to put it back inside of himself.

"Are you sure you're ok!?" Mikey said in concern as he got closer to him again.

"Yeah, I just pick it up and put it back in again, haha!" Donnie answered him whilst giggling still before he stopped as he thought about something that Mikey said earlier.

"Hey, did you just call me 'bro' earlier?" He asked.

"Err…yeah…" Mikey answered after he was taken back by what he was just asked before he heard Donnie ask him another question.

"What does that word mean?"

"Well, it's short for 'brother', and people would call their male friends that when they are close friends, and I also called you that because you're like my real older brother Donnie from where I come from which is New York," Mikey answered with a long explanation of what the word 'bro' meant.

Donnie looked at Mikey with an awe-stricken look on his face after he was told the definition of the word 'bro'; he never had any siblings or friends, and he had always wanted one or both so being called a bro was like a dream come true for him. A joyful smile developed on his face before he spoke.

"Wow…I've always wanted friends, as well as a brother, and New York sounds like a great name for a place to live in. You're lucky since I get really lonely out here with nothing to do but trying and failing to scare away crows from the cornfield…all because I don't have a brain…" By the time he finished the last sentence, Donnie's eyes began to fill with tears.

Mikey felt really bad for the poor scarecrow and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to give him a sideways hug, which Donnie accepted by snuggling closer to him, and Klunk rubbed himself against Donnie's leg to comfort him. After a moment, Mikey made up his mind and said something to him that could cheer him up a bit.

"Hey listen, I'm on my way to see the Great Wizard of Oz at Emerald City to ask him if he can help me get back home. Why don't you come with me and see if he can help you too?"

After hearing this, Donnie gasped before he looked at Mikey with his tear-filled eyes and spoke.

"R-Really!? Do you really think that I can get a new brain if I went to see this Great Wizard of Oz with you?"

"I don't see why not, bro, but I have to warn you that I have an evil Warlord named Shredder chasing after me because of this Medallion of Light around my neck, and I don't want anyone around me to get hurt. It's up to you if you want to join me…" Mikey answered in a serious tone when he mentioned about Warlord Shredder and then pointed at the Medallion of Light around his neck.

Although he was a little scared at first after hearing about an evil warlord chasing his new friend and brother, Donnie pushed his fear aside and looked at Mikey with a confident expression on his face before he spoke.

"Well, I'm not afraid of some evil warlord, I'm not afraid of anything…Except for a lit match…" Donnie pointed at his straw-filled body as he said the last sentence in a whisper.

"I can understand why…" Mikey replied in agreement before he stood up and helped Donnie up as he spoke again.

"Well then, shall we head off to Oz?"

"Yes, to Oz!" Donnie answered in a cheer as he linked arms with his new brother before both turtles began to walk on the right-side path.

With a new friend and companion by his side, Mikey felt that his adventure was starting to become more fun and interesting before he began to think about who he might run into next as he walked on, with Klunk following him and Donnie from behind them.


	4. Chapter 4-The Tin Man

Chapter 4-The Tin Man

Mikey, Klunk and their new companion Donnie the Scarecrow continued their journey towards the Emerald City to find the Wizard of Oz whilst the two turtles chatted to each other about themselves and their lives before they first met, unbeknownst to them that the Warlord Shredder was watching them from his hiding place behind a big tree before he disappeared into the shadows.

After finishing their chat, the small group stopped and looked around in their surroundings as they came across a beautiful apple orchard, where Mikey noticed a lot of bright red and juicy-looking apples on each tree he saw, and now that he thought about it he was starting to feel a little hungry.

"Oh look, apples!" Mikey said in happiness before he and Donnie went over to one of the trees and reached out to pick his first apple. Suddenly, the tree branch moved and grabbed Mikey's hand and another branch whacked his hand, causing the apple to fall from his grip as Mikey yelped in pain.

"Owww!"

"What do you think you're doing!?"

"W-Well we been walking a long way and I was hungry and…" Mikey answered without noticing that he was speaking to a talking tree until he paused with wide eyes and spoke again. "Wait, did you just say something!?"

The trees surrounding the small group began to laugh and tell each other what Mikey just said in a sarcastic way before the tree in front of them spoke again. "Well, how would you like it if somebody came and picked something off of you?"

"I-I'm sorry about that, dude; I totally forgot that I'm not in New York right now…" Mikey said in a fluster.

It was then that Donnie grabbed Mikey's shoulder and moved slightly in front of him with a stern look on his face due to not liking the way those trees were talking to his new brother and friend like that.

"Come on, Mikey…You don't want to eat _those _apples, humph!" Donnie said firmly but with a slightly mocking tone in his voice.

"Are you saying that our apples are not what they're aught to be?" The tree grumbled.

"Oh no, it's just that my little brother doesn't like little green worms!" Donnie replied in a sarcastic tone.

This got the trees mad and the one in front of the group tried to grab Mikey, but Donnie managed to move him out of its reach and slapped its arms away numerous times to keep it from grabbing him as he ran away from it.

"I'll show how to get apples," Donnie whispered to Mikey before he began to make silly faces towards the trees.

The trees got even angrier and started to throw their apples at Donnie who dodged the first two before he got hit in the face by the third apple, causing him to tumble and fall before he stood back up again.

Mikey couldn't help but laugh at what was going on around him as he too was dodging the apples whilst trying to gather as many as he could in his arms. Klunk, on the other hand, did not find it funny as he dodged the apples and hissed at the trees when they threw the apples his way.

Once Mikey and Donnie had got enough apples, they regrouped with Klunk and headed off to continue their journey to Emerald City.

15 minutes later…

Mikey and Donnie were still eating their apples, which were held in their arms, and Klunk was nibbling a bit of an apple that Mikey shared with him whilst he was resting on his shoulder.

"Gosh, these apples really are juicy…" Donnie said in delight before he took another bite of his apple. Despite being made out of straw stuffing, he had the ability to consume food in the land of Oz.

"Mmm hmm…" Mikey said in agreement due to having a mouthful of apple.

Then, one of Mikey's apples fell from his arm and rolled towards the bushes ahead of him, so he quickly headed off to retrieve it with Donnie following him not far from behind.

As soon as Mikey walked through the bushes and spotted his apple on the ground, he lowered himself down and was about to grab it when he suddenly saw something metal in front of him. On closer inspection, he discovered it to be in the shape of a three-toed foot, and he slowly looked up to see more of the metal figure's features such as a belt and a shell on its back before his eyes widened as he got to the head.

"What the…Raph!?" Mikey shouted in surprise when he saw its face because it looked just like Raphael due to the red-coloured mask and the fierce look on his face.

"Mikey? What is it?" Donnie called out before he appeared next to Mikey.

"I-It's Raphael! And he's made out of…tin!" Mikey answered whilst he knocked on the metal body to check what material it's made out of.

"_Mmmm…. Mmm…Mmm…!_" A sudden sound stopped Mikey and Donnie in their tracks whilst they continued to check him out, and they then looked at each other before Mikey spoke.

"Did you just hear something?"

"_Mmm…Mmmm…!_"

"I think he's trying to say something!" Donnie said after he discovered that the sound was coming from the metal turtle's mouth, so he and Mikey got closer to it to try and figure out what he was trying to say.

"_Mm Mm…Mm…!_"

"Oil…can…? I think he said 'oil can'," Mikey guessed before he, Klunk and Donnie looked around to see if there was an oil can close by. A moment later, Klunk found it next to a tree and he meowed to alert his master and Donnie who both turned to see that he was standing next to an oil can inside a woven basket.

"Alright! Great job, Klunk!" Mikey complimented his little friend whilst he patted him on the head and then took the basket with the oil can in it and headed back to Donnie.

"Here you go, let's do the mouth first!" Mikey said as he passed Donnie the oil can and he began to squirt the oil onto the sides of the metal turtle's mouth first.

The metal turtle felt the oil beginning to loosen his mouth, so he slowly moved his mouth back and forth with a creak.

"Ma…ma…ma…oh, man…I can finally talk again…" the metal turtle said in relief before his eyes turned to Donnie and spoke again. "Hey, do my neck and arms, would ya?"

Donnie nodded to his request and began squirting the oil onto his neck and left arm before he passed the can over to Mikey so that he could do the right arm.

"Ahh…dat's betta…my legs next…" The metal turtle said as he slowly moved his neck and arms, whilst Mikey and Donnie oiled his legs.

Soon, the metal turtle felt a lot better now that all of his limbs were moveable once again. After a moment of moving about, the metal turtle turned to look at Mikey and Donnie before he spoke with a serious look on his face.

"So, who are you guys anyway?"

"I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey, and this is my pet cat Klunk," Mikey spoke first as he pointed to himself and Klunk before Donnie spoke next.

"And I'm Donatello the Scarecrow, Donnie for short. What's your name?"

"Da name's Raphael the Tin Man, but ya can just call me Raph. By da way, how da ya know my name, err…Mikey was it?" Raph answered before he turned to look at Mikey with a confused look on his face as he asked the question since he never met him or Donnie before until now.

"Well, err…I have an older brother named Raphael back where I come from, which is New York, and you look just like him so that's why I know it…" Mikey answered nervously due to the way Raph was looking at him.

"I see…" Raph said in understanding before Donnie spoke up.

"Hey Raph, how did you end up frozen like that anyway?"

"Well, it happened about a year ago; I was chopping wood with my axe in da forest, then suddenly it started ta rain. It caused my body ta get all rusted solid, and I've been stuck like dat ever since…" Raph answered flatly.

"Man…that's awful…but you look perfect now, dude!" Mikey said to try and cheer him up.

"Perfect? Why don't ya bang on my chest before ya say that! Go on…bang it, fa shell's sake!" Raph said firmly.

Donnie did what Raph said and banged on his plastron-covered chest hard, causing an echo inside the metal turtle.

"Wow, beautiful…what an echo…!" He said with glee and Mikey nodded in agreement.

"It's empty, ya bonehead! Da blacksmith who made me forgot ta give me a heart before he passed away…" Raph snapped out before he grumbled the last sentence and turned his head away to hide his sad face.

"No heart!?" Mikey and Donnie said together in shock.

Raph shook his head sadly to confirm it and he then explained to them that without a heart, he cannot feel emotions such as happiness or sadness. A moment later, Mikey placed a hand on Raph's metal shoulder before he spoke with a determined smile on his face.

"Listen, bro; We're on our way to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz cos I need him to help me get back home to New York and Donnie would like a new brain. Why don't you come along with us and see if the Wizard can give you a new heart?"

Raph's eyes widened to what Mikey just told him. He couldn't believe that despite only just meeting one another, Mikey would invite someone like him to come with him to see someone who might have the power to grant him a new heart.

"Are ya being serious!? What if we go down there and find out dat dis Wizard can't give me a heart? It would all have been fa nothing if I joined ya…and why did ya call me 'bro'…?" He said with doubt and then confusion in his voice.

"Look, I can't say for sure if he is able to give you a heart since I've never met him, but we'll never know unless we go to Emerald City and try! Also, I called you 'bro' cos you're my friend now and you're a lot like my red-banded older brother back home…" Mikey answered with determination in his voice before he developed a warm smile as he said the last sentence.

"I know that I don't have a brain, but I do know that Mikey's right; we won't know for sure on whether or not we get our wishes until we go to Emerald City and see for ourselves, and you're my friend and bro too so I gotta help you out as well!" Donnie said to support Mikey's explanation.

Raph looked back and forth from Donnie to Mikey with an astonished look; for the past year, people would normally just walk past him and ignore him when he tried to call out for help. However, he had this feeling that told him that Mikey was different from them because he had this positive and caring aura around him that he couldn't describe with words.

"And besides, we've already come a long way so we can't just give up now…" Mikey said with encouragement. Raph was about to reply to him before he heard a dark cackle coming from behind him and the others. When the group turned around, they saw the Warlord Shredder standing on top of an old cottage whilst staring at them with his glaring red eyes before he spoke.

"You call that 'long'…? Why you've only just begun, you freak! Helping the little turtle along, you two? Well, you should stay away from him if you know what's good for you!" The Warlord warned Mikey's companions before he pointed his staff at Donnie as he continued to speak. "Otherwise, I will make a mattress out of you, Scarecrow!" This caused Donnie to flinch slightly with fear before the staff was pointed at Raph and spoke again. "And as for you, Tin Man, I will turn you into my own personal beehive!" This also caused Raph to flinch a little before he put on his brave face again shortly after.

Then, the Warlord held out his hand and created a large fireball before he spoke once more. "Here, Scarecrow, do you want to play ball…? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Mikey looked on in horror as the Warlord threw the fireball directly towards Donnie who just stood there with a petrified look on his face, both of them knowing that the attack was too big to dodge away from where they were standing.

"NOOO!" Mikey shouted out before he stood in front of his scarecrow friend and brother with his arms stretched out in order to take the hit himself and protect Donnie in the process. It was then that the Medallion of Light began to flash a bright orange glow and a force field appeared in front of the group as Mikey's body and eyes also glowed in a warm orange aura.

The force field stopped the fireball as soon as it got closer to them before it exploded on impact, but the force field remained undamaged over the group after the smoke cleared.

"What!? No, this is impossible!" The Warlord shouted in anger and frustration after what he had just witnessed before his very eyes.

A moment after the attack hit and disappeared, the force field faded away and the Medallion returned to its dormant state, causing Mikey to collapse on his knees in exhaustion.

"Mikey!" Donnie and Raph shouted in unison as they immediately reached out to support him and keep him from falling on the ground altogether before they turned their heads to look at the Warlord who was still seething in rage.

"The Medallion of Light…I must have it at all costs…I will be back!" He yelled whilst he looked at the exhausted turtle with a deadly glare before he became shrouded in smoke and disappeared once again.

As soon as they knew that they were safe for now, Donnie and Raph went back to tending to Mikey who was leaning on Raph's plastron and his were eyes closed whilst he was breathing heavily as if trying to catch his breath.

"Mikey!? Mikey, are you ok!?" Donnie asked him desperately whilst he held his little brother's hand in his own with a worried look on his face.

"C' mon, little bro…talk ta us!" Raph urged whilst he kept Mikey upright on his plastron, and Klunk meowed continuously as he kept rubbing himself on his master's other hand to try and get him to respond to him.

After a couple of deep breathes, Mikey opened his eyes slowly and looked on ahead to see Donnie's worried but relieved face in front of him before he developed a small smile on his tired-looking face.

"D-Donnie…?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake…" Donnie said in relief as he gave Mikey a gentle hug, which Mikey returned.

"Man, Mikey…give a turtle a heart attack, why don't ya? Even though I don't have a heart…" Raph then said as he gave Mikey a soft noogie on the head when Donnie broke the hug.

"S-Sorry, guys…I-I don't know what happened back there…I just remember jumping in front of Donnie…and then I was surrounded by a bright light…!" Mikey explained slowly whilst stroking Klunk to relieve his worries for his master before he continued. "After that…I woke up on the ground with you guys around me…"

"What da Shell was dat, anyway? And did da Warlord Shredder just call dat thing da 'Medallion of Light'?" Raph questioned as he helped Mikey to sit up and pointed at the Medallion when he asked the last question.

"I don't know… but this thing just appeared around my neck out of nowhere after the Wicked Witch of the East was killed by a house falling on top of her, and Glinda the Good Witch of the North told me that I needed to protect it with my life and it can only be used by those who have a pure and kind heart, and she also said that only Great Wizard of Oz knows more about it…" Mikey explained as he pointed at the necklace around his neck.

Donnie placed a finger on his chin as he thought about what happened earlier before a theory suddenly popped into his straw-filled head and said, "Well, I don't have a brain but I think what happened was that Mikey's kindness and protective side had activated the Medallion's power and created that force field in order to fulfil his wish in protecting me from the Warlord's attack…"

Both Mikey and Raph looked at Donnie with astonished expressions on their faces after they heard that theory coming from Donnie before Mikey nodded and smiled in agreement.

"I think you're right, Don. You're really are smarter than you think, you know…" Mikey said which caused Donnie to smile proudly before Mikey's smile turned into a frown when he continued to talk. "Well, whatever that power was, it really takes a lot of energy out of you…"

"Ya got dat right; ya keeled over as soon as dat force field disappeared! Ya gonna have ta be careful the next time ya use it, Mike…" Raph firmly but softly advised Mikey as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hopefully, they won't be a next time…" Mikey said with a concerned look on his face before he spoke again. "That's why I'm worried about bringing you guys along with me on this journey, especially with the Warlord Shredder chasing after me…"

Mikey felt another hand grab his shoulder and he turned to see Donnie with a determined look on his face before he spoke.

"No way, Mikey…You saved my life so I owe you one. We're also brothers and friends and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get to Emerald City, whether I get a new brain or not. "Make a mattress out of me", humph! I'd like to see him try….!"

Mikey then felt his other shoulder being squeezed gently by Raph who also had a smirk and a determined look on his own face before he spoke. "Dat's right, bro! I'll also come with ya ta make sure dat ya get ta da Wizard in one piece, whether I get a new heart or not. Make a beehive outta me… I'll shove one in dat shred head's helmet and see how he likes it!"

Mikey chuckled at that remark since it reminded him of how the real Raph would make remarks like that before he looked from Raph to Donnie with a joyful smile and the feeling of relief after he heard what the two turtles told him.

"Wow…I can't tell you how happy I am to have great brothers and friends like you guys. You really are just like my brothers back home…" Mikey said before his smile saddened.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Donnie said with worry after he saw Mikey turn from joyful to sad.

"Oh don't worry, I'm fine now. I was just wondering what my brothers back home are doing right now, and if they're really missing me since I'm always a goofball and a screw-up to them, especially my brother Raph…" Mikey replied quickly to ease Donnie's worries before he looked away to hide his sad face.

Raph and Donnie looked at each other before they nodded and looked at Mikey again as Raph started to speak.

"Hey…After what you just did fa Donnie earlier, you're ok in my book, Mikey."

"Yeah, and I'm sure your brothers are missing you and that they love you, no matter who you are to them…" Donnie said in agreement.

Mikey's eyes and mouth widened when he heard those comments to him before he smiled and tears began to develop in his eyes. He then walked over and gave both of them a big group hug as he said, "Thanks, guys…", which Donnie accepted straight away whilst Raph resisted at first before he grumbled and returned the hug as well.

As soon as he released his adopted brothers from the hug, he held out his hand to encourage them to place their hands on top of his before he said, "Well then, to Oz?"

"To Oz!" Donnie and Raph cheered as they and Mikey lifted their hands in the air and started the continuation of their adventure, with Klunk meowing in agreement whilst being carried by Mikey in the newly found basket as he walked with both Donnie and his new brother and companion Raph by his side.


	5. Chapter 5-The Lion

Chapter 5-The Lion

As Mikey and his group continued on with their journey, they soon came to a stop after they noticed that the atmosphere around them was a lot darker than it was earlier.

When Mikey looked around to see and know more about where he and his group are currently at, he began to feel nervous and a bit scared as he saw the bare but dark trees surrounding them, and the sounds of crows cawing and owls hooting combined were making it even scarier to be in such a forest.

Donnie was feeling the same way as Mikey since he was shaking in fear whilst staying close to him with his arms wrapped around one of Mikey's arms, and Klunk was also still hidden away in the basket but he popped his little head out every now and then to see what was going on around him.

"What's da matter, you two? Are ya scared?" Raph suddenly blurted out with a teasing smirk on his face, causing Mikey and Donnie to look over at him with an annoyed glare on each of their faces.

"Well, excuse me for feeling a bit freaked out by a dark and creepy-looking forest!" Mikey said in a defensive tone.

"Y-Yeah, so how come you're not feeling so scared, tough guy?" Donnie asked in a shaky voice due to feeling scared still.

Raph got a bit annoyed when he heard them arguing back at him, but instead of yelling something back at them, he smirked as he decided to play with them a bit by telling them a partly false story about the forest that they're currently walking through.

"Cos da reason why I ain't scared of dis place is dat I've been here many times before, and I've seen many scary beasts as I passed through this forest in my time," Raph said whilst still wearing his cheeky smirk before he watched in amusement as Mikey and Donnie gasped and their eyes widened as they looked at each other and then at him, before Donnie spoke first.

"R-Really? Are there beasts that eat…s-straw!?"

"Well, some do but the beasts that I see in this forest involve mostly lions, tigers and bears," Raph answered with another lie.

"W-Wha…Lions...?" Mikey said shakily as he began to feel even more nervous.

"A-And tigers…?" Donnie followed in a similar tone.

"And bears…" Raph finished calmly whilst still wearing his smirk.

"Eep…L-Lions and…tigers and…bears…oh, man…!" Mikey said before he and the others started to walk deeper into the forest.

"Lions and tigers and bears…Oh, man…!" The turtles began to chant repeatedly as they walked at a faster pace, until…

"HALT!"

They were stopped dead in their tracks by a booming and animalistic voice that echoed through the whole forest, and it wasn't until they looked in front of them that they saw a figure hiding with intimidating white eyes staring at them from within in the shadows.

"Who's there!? Show ya self!" Raph shouted out as he got in front of Mikey and Donnie due to his inner protective instincts kicking in to keep his brothers and friends safe.

"Grr…I will only say this once; Leave this forest, or face the consequence!" The mysterious figure warned the group before he reached for his weapons hidden on his back.

"Not a chance, pal! We're going through dis forest whether ya like it or not!" Raph argued back, ignoring the shocked looks that he saw on Mikey's and Donnie's faces as he got a hold of his axe in a battle stance.

"Very well…You have been warned…Rrrooaarr!" The figure roared before he jumped out from the shadows with his weapons, which were discovered to be two katana swords, in both hands and landed not far from where Raph was standing.

Now that the mysterious figure was in the lighter part of the forest, the group was finally able to see who they were facing; the figure had a plastron and a shell just like them but the difference between him and them is that he had a lion-skin cloak that covered his shell and the lion's head was used as a hood to cover the figure's own head, and he also had a belt made out of lion's tail which carries a supply pouch on each side of his waist.

It was then that Mikey's eyes widened as he gasped in shock and surprise when he saw the figure's face because he looked just like his oldest brother Leo due to wearing a blue-coloured ninja mask!

"Leo…" Mikey said quietly to prevent the others from hearing him, even though Donnie had already caught wind of the way Mikey was acting when he first saw the mysterious figure come out from the shadows.

"Alright, bring it on!" Raph yelled as he charged forward with his axe in his hands and crossed weapons with the mystery lion turtle's katana before they both back away and charged at each other again.

Once he was close enough, however, Raph did a feint attack by pretending to aim for the lion turtle's left side but he secretly released an uppercut to his face, causing the lion turtle to fly backwards and land hard on the ground, leaving him dazed.

As he was watching the battle unfold, Mikey noticed that the lion turtle wasn't getting up as quickly as he and Donnie thought he would, and he also saw Raph charge at him again to land the finishing blow. This caused his heart to race with panic and concern with the thought that Raph might end up killing the turtle whilst he's defenceless, so Mikey ran forward with a reaching hand and shouted with all his might;

"STOP, RAPH!"

After he did that, the Medallion suddenly glowed once again and his hand also glowed with the same orange aura as a force field appeared over the lion-turtle just seconds before Raph hit it with his axe.

The lion turtle looked up from his curled up position and saw the force field with wide eyes, and Raph also took a step back in surprise before he turned around to see Mikey glowing with shining eyes and an arm stretched out, with Donnie also looking on in shock over what Mikey just did.

A moment later, the force field disappeared and the Medallion became dormant again, with Mikey collapsing just seconds after his body and eyes stopped glowing.

"Mikey!" Donnie shouted as he caught Mikey's drained body and gently lowered him on the ground.

"Not again…!" Raph said out loud as he headed towards the two turtles with concerns over Mikey's health and wellbeing.

The lion-cloaked turtle slowly stood up but winced as an old injury flared up in his leg before he cautiously approached the group whilst they tended to Mikey who had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily again as he did before. Raph sensed him as the lion turtle got closer to them and he turned around instantly with a growl.

"Back off, or I'll knock ya out with one strike!" He warned with narrowed eyes.

"W-Wait, please…I-I don't really mean you any harm…I-I was just…" The lion-cloaked turtle tried to explain himself in a nervous manner but Raph didn't want to fall for it, thinking that it was a trap.

"I won't ask ya again, back-" Raph began to speak but he was suddenly cut off by a weak voice behind him.

"T-That's…enough, Raph…! It's not right…to strike someone…when they're down…and defenceless…" It was Mikey, who had opened his eyes slightly and looked straight up at Raph's face as he said those words whilst he stroked Klunk to reassure him that he was fine.

"Mikey…" Donnie said in relief after seeing his little brother awake and talking again.

Raph's firm look softened after hearing how weak Mikey sounded when he was trying to tell him what's right and wrong in terms of battle before he moved slightly away from the lion-cloaked turtle to allow him to come closer to the group.

"A-Are you alright?" The lion-cloaked turtle asked Mikey nervously but with concern in his tone as he knelt down slowly to his level.

"Y-Yeah…just tired…" Mikey replied with a kind smile whilst he continued in catching his breath.

"I told ya ta be careful, Mike…" Raph said firmly to Mikey in frustration as he felt that Mikey didn't listen to his first warning.

"I-I'm sorry…I didn't ask it to do that…it just does whatever it wants…" Mikey argued back to defend himself before he lowered his head as tears began to develop in his eyes due to the feeling that he had screwed up again.

The lion-cloaked turtle frowned at the sight before he slowly reached out and gently held Mikey's hand to try and comfort him as he felt that it was his fault for causing this to happen. Mikey's watery face then looked up at the lion-cloaked turtle before he heard him talk.

"W-What's your name?"

"M-Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey, and this is Donatello the Scarecrow and Raphael the Tin Man," Mikey answered whilst he pointed at his companions as he introduced them, and then he pointed at Klunk who meowed at the lion-cloaked turtle. "And this is my pet cat, Klunk."

"Oh, hello…" the lion-cloaked turtle greeted Klunk with a small smile before he stroked him gently, causing the little cat to purr happily.

"Wow, you're pretty good with animals," Donnie noted after he spotted the lion-cloaked turtle's behavioural difference between them and Klunk.

"Well…W-When you're alone and you live in a forest for a long time…you make friends with the resident animals…" the lion-cloaked turtle explained shyly as his face blushed before he heard Mikey speak again.

"By the way…is your name…Leonardo…?"

The lion-cloaked turtle gasped at Mikey's question and his eyes widened before he answered him.

"Y-Yes! H-How did you…!?" His voice sounded shocked as well as surprised when he said this.

"Well, you see…where I come from, which is a place called New York, I have three older brothers and the oldest is called Leonardo, and you look just like him since you have his blue-coloured mask and use katana as your weapons…" Mikey answered him with a tired but warm smile.

Leo blinked and looked up at Donnie and Raph who both nodded to say that what Mikey said was true since they look like his two other older brothers back home. Leo then faced Mikey again but this time he had a small smile developing on his face as he spoke.

"Gosh…, I…don't know what to say…but I do want to thank you for saving me earlier…If I had the courage I wouldn't have tried to act all tough and brave back there…and you wouldn't have had to exhaust yourself with that trinket's power…"

"So…ya noticed it too, huh?" Raph asked bluntly.

"Yes…in fact, I know a few things about it since I have heard stories about it," Leo answered without making eye contact with Raph due to feeling intimidated by his angry-looking face, before looking up at the sky to see that the sky had darkened and the full moon was out.

"But we should discuss this in a more safer place…I can take you to my camp to do so and also rest for the night, b-but that's only if you want to…" He said as he once again spoke in a nervous tone.

Donnie and Raph looked at each other and then at Mikey as they thought about his offer, but they both knew that Mikey was still a bit worn out from using the Medallion's power again and won't be able to move for a while. With this in mind, the two turtles turned to look at Leo before Donnie spoke.

"I think that's the best thing to do since we have walked a long way and Mikey is still exhausted from earlier…Thank you…"

"Yeah, after dat nice offer, I think I can forgive ya fa dat little act ya put on back there…" Raph said in agreement before he went to help Donnie with supporting Mikey after he was helped up from the ground.

Leo smiled a bit more after receiving those words of gratitude since he only heard them for the first time before he turned his body halfway and spoke.

"Alright then, follow me and stay quiet…a lot of different creatures come out during the dark of night…"

The three turtles nodded before they and Klunk followed Leo quietly as he led them towards his base camp, leaving the darkest part of the forest behind them.


	6. Chapter 6-A Story at Camp

Chapter 6-A Story at Camp

Leo had managed to reach his camp despite the slight pain that he was feeling in his old leg wound, and he then guided the three turtles inside his large tent so that they could lay an exhausted Mikey down on Leo's sleeping mat before they sat down next to him.

"I wish I could offer you something to eat or drink, but I'm afraid I am low on both food and water at the moment…" Leo said sadly after a moment of silence.

"That's ok, bro…We've still got some apples left over in our basket. You can have one if you want…" Mikey replied before he offered him an apple that he just got out of the basket with three other apples for Donnie, Raph and himself.

"R-Really!? Wow, thank you…" Leo said happily before he reached out and gently took the apple from Mikey's hand. However, before he took a bite he paused and looked at Mikey with a confused look on his face as he spoke.

"Hey, did you just…call me 'bro' just now…?"

"Mm-Hmm…" Mikey hummed due to having a big piece of chewed-up apple in his mouth before he swallowed and started to talk despite feeling tired still. "I called you that cos you're our friend and brother now, and we call each other 'bro' instead of our real names cos that what friends and brothers do to show how close we are…"

Leo's eyes widened before he, Donnie and Raph smiled at Mikey's answer. "Wow…I-I can't believe that you think of me as your friend and brother…despite the fact that we only just met…" Leo said in disbelief before he started to eat his apple.

"He said dat ta us in a similar way so you're not da only one ta be surprised by dat," Raph explained before he continued with eating his apple.

"Yeah, I was all alone for a long time until Mikey came along and made a friend and brother out of me despite me being a brainless scarecrow…" Donnie said in agreement to what Raph said before he turned to Mikey and gave him a warm smile, which Mikey returned before he spoke back.

"Hey, after what you did for me back with those talking trees, Donnie, you have proven to me that you are smarter than you think even without a brain…"

This made Donnie feel even happier and uplifted with tears of joy developing in his eyes before he went over to where Mikey was laying and gave him a hug, which Mikey happily returned and released him as Leo asked the three turtles a question nervously.

"So…I-If you don't mind me asking…What were you doing in the dark forest in the first place? Normally people would run away or stay clear of this place…when they go inside or near it…"

Mikey looked over at Donnie and Raph who both nodded to allow him to explain their reason for coming here.

"Well, the reason we were passing through this forest was that we're on a journey to the Emerald City so that we could go see the Wizard of Oz and ask him if he could help me get back home to my family in New York…"

"And to ask him to give me a new brain…" Donnie then said as he followed Mikey's lead.

"And ta ask him if he can give me a new heart…" Raph said afterwards before Mikey resumed in his explanation.

"However, I'm being chased by an evil Warlord called Shredder, because he's trying to get the Medallion of Light from me."

Leo gasped with wide eyes at Mikey's last sentence before his eyes narrowed and gritted his teeth, his blood boiling with internal rage.

"_Shredder_…!" He growled as he placed a hand over his wrapped-up injured leg and rubbed it gently as he thought about that name.

"Erm…I noticed that your leg was bandaged during the fight between you and Raph earlier…Did the Warlord Shredder do that to you?" Mikey asked carefully as he pointed out the leg wound to Leo who sighed deeply to calm himself down before he began to speak.

"Yes…It happened about 2 weeks ago; I was training in an open field near my village since I was preparing myself for the upcoming ninja tribunal exam, which gives ninja students like me the opportunity to join the Emerald City's Elite ninja guard who helps to protect the city as well as the Great Wizard himself.

Then, whilst I was on my way to restock my water supply at the village well, the Warlord Shredder appeared in a shroud of black smoke and he had his minions with him at the time."

"Minions…?" Mikey said in surprise when he heard that the Warlord had minions working for him before he watched Leo nod and continued his story.

"The Warlord demanded that the villagers tell him the whereabouts of a special artefact called the Medallion of Light is or he would destroy the entire village. The villagers were just average but caring people who never thought about such artefacts that they hardly knew about or used before in their lives, so they all told them that they had no knowledge of its location or what it looks like."

However, the Warlord dismissed their claims as lies and commanded his minions to eliminate them…"

The three turtles gasped in horror after they heard Leo's last sentence, finding it difficult to hear that the Warlord would do such a cruel thing to innocent people in order to get what he wants before Leo continued on.

"The minions did what their leader told them to do and started attacking the villagers and their homes. One-by-one, the villagers were being killed and their houses were destroyed… I couldn't bear the fact that my home and friends were being attacked and killed by that monster and his army, so I and my close childhood rabbit friend Usagi decided to fight back against them."

"Whoa…seriously!? Just you two against an army and da Warlord…!?" Raph questioned in surprise before he watched Leo nod again before he spoke again.

"The other students, who were training to become ninjas too, were taken out straight away due to the minions' and Warlord's strong fighting skills, but Usagi and I were more experienced and were able to immobilize the Warlord's army before we faced the man himself…At first, we thought that we were winning with it being two against one but then the Warlord managed to land a heavy blow on my leg by stabbing his bladed gauntlet deep into my upper leg…"

Mikey, Donnie and Raph all cringed and hissed after they thought about how it must have felt to get stabbed in the leg like that before Leo continued.

"I tried to get up but the pain was too intense and my leg would give halfway as I got up. The Warlord took advantage of my condition and aimed his sword at me as he charged forward to try and finish me with a killing blow…but Usagi suddenly jumped in front of me…and took the fatal hit to the heart…" by now, Leo's eyes filled with tears and they fell down his cheeks whilst he heard the others gasp in horror from what he just said before he carried on.

"I-I managed to catch him as he fell to my level…I knew that his wounds were life-threatening, but…Usagi looked up and smiled at me as he struggled to breathe, although both he and I knew that he would not survive his wounds…and he told me to stay strong and to keep fighting until the Warlord is defeated for good…and then…he closed his eyes…and died instantly in my arms…"

Leo instantly sobbed his heart out as he finished the last sentence before he felt someone instantly giving him a tight but gentle hug. When he opened his eyes slightly he found out that it was Mikey who was hugging him so he greatly returned the hug as he continued to sob with his face buried into Mikey's shoulder.

"Oh, Leo…I'm so sorry…it's ok…, let it all out…and take as much time as you need, bro…" Mikey said softly as he rubbed Leo's back soothingly to comfort him whilst Donnie and Raph looked on in sadness.

A couple of minutes later, Leo began to calm down since the only sounds that could be heard from Mikey's shoulder were sniffles and hiccups so Mikey slowly released him from the hug but kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders whilst Leo wiped the tears from his eyes. Klunk then came over to Leo and rubbed himself against his plastron to help comfort him as well.

"Leo…you don't have to carry on…if it's too much for you…" Donnie said softly but Leo shook his head to say that he wanted to continue on with finishing his story whilst he gave Klunk a thankful stroke on his head.

"A-After a moment of looking around at what was left of the village and then from Usagi to the Warlord, I-I realized that I was the only one still standing…, wounded but alive…However, the shock of losing my home and those I cared about…had allowed guilt and fear to overwhelm me…so instead of fighting back and getting revenge on the Warlord…I fled…deep into this forest without looking back…and I've lived here with no further outside contact ever since…"

Everyone sat quietly for a moment to allow everything that Leo had said to them before Mikey spoke up.

"Is that why you threatened us earlier…to try and chase us out of the forest so that you wouldn't make contact with us?"

"Yes…but I didn't know until now that one of you had the Medallion of Light when I first met you all earlier…Where the Shell did you find it, anyway?" Leo replied before he pointed at the trinket around Mikey's neck.

"Well…" Mikey began to explain to Leo about what happened when he first arrived in this world, including his first encounter with Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Warlord Shredder, receiving the Medallion of Light, meeting Donnie and Raph, the Medallion's power activating, and then finishing with where he and his companions are currently at now.

"So you don't exactly know what the Medallion of Light is used for or how to control its power?" Leo asked after he took a moment to process Mikey's story into his mind.

"No... It just activates on its own whenever he tried to protect us…and each time that happens, it causes Mikey to collapse with exhaustion…" Donnie answered for Mikey in a worried tone due to his concerns for Mikey's health and wellbeing when he explained about the Medallion's after-effects, with Raph nodding in agreement.

Leo looked from Mikey to Donnie and Raph, and then he took a minute to think about what he should do next before he made up his mind and spoke up.

"I see…well, I would be happy to come along with you on your journey to the Emerald City; Not only will I help you with getting your wishes but I want to know more about this Medallion of Light and why the Warlord Shredder would do anything to get it, and I also want to ask the Great Wizard if he could help me get my courage back…I'm getting tired of running and hiding when there are people out there who need ninjas like me to protect them…"

Mikey's eyes went wide with surprise after he heard Leo's decision to join him and his group in their journey to get their wishes granted by the Great Wizard.

"Really!? That's great to hear! Welcome...to the team, bro…" He said whilst he yawned and his eyes drooped a bit, meaning that his exhaustion was catching up to him.

"Heh, looks like someone's needs his beauty sleep…" Raph said with a smirk when he noticed how tired Mikey looked, with Donnie nodding and humming in agreement whilst he let out a yawn himself.

Leo smiled warmly at Mikey when he laid his head on his shoulder before he gently helped him lay down on the sleeping mat and placed a blanket over his body and up to his shoulders. Mikey opened and closed his eyes a few times as he struggled to stay awake before he felt Leo stroke his head, slowly soothing him to sleep.

"Rest, Mikey…We'll see you in the morning…" Leo said softly before he watched as Mikey smiled at him and whispered "goodnight, bros…", before he closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly, with Klunk curled up asleep next to his master's head.

"Wow…you're a natural in looking after others, Leo," Donnie complimented Leo after he watched how he easily settled Mikey to sleep with just a few strokes to the head.

"Yeah, he's just like a big brother…I'll bet his older brother back home is like dat…" Raph said in agreement before he watched as Leo blush and then stifle a yawn.

"Get some sleep, you two, I'll take da first watch."

"Ok, goodnight…" Donnie said before he laid next to Mikey and fell asleep seconds later.

"Thank you, Raph. Goodnight…" Leo said with a grateful smile before he too laid down and fell asleep immediately.

"G'night, bros…" Raph replied as he looked at each of his new brothers with a small smile before he took his position as a look-out from the entrance of the tent to make sure that nothing would sneak in and attack them with their guards down, whilst he took a glimpse of the full moon with thoughts on his mind about the possible events that might happen tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7-Poppies

Chapter 7-Poppies

After waking up to a peaceful morning without any problems during the night, the four turtles had managed to walk towards a clearing that led to the forest exit, finally relieved to be out of the forest altogether.

What they didn't know, however, was that they were secretly being watched…by none other than the Warlord Shredder!

"So…the cowardly lion-cloaked turtle has finally left the safety of his den, has he? Well, it was about time he did; he fled from the battlefield without allowing me the chance to finish him off!" The Warlord said in frustration whilst he observed the turtles' movements in his late daughter's crystal ball from inside of his castle.

The Warlord then took his eyes off the crystal ball and began to pace back and forth in the room as he thought about what he should do next. A minute later, he stopped and an evil smirk developed on his face before he walked over to his spells and potions cabinet and grabbed a large red-coloured bottle from one of the shelves.

"If I were to get the Medallion of Light back from that turtle freak's neck, then I must at least slow him and his so-called 'brothers' down a little…and once I grab the Medallion from his weakened body, I will be the most powerful ruler of all!" The Warlord said before he walked back to the crystal ball, removed the cork from the bottle and then carefully poured the smoky fluid over the crystal ball as it showed a scene featuring the turtle group approaching a flower meadow.

"Now then, a little something with poison in it, I think…yes, with poison in it but attractive to the eye…and soothing the smell…Hehe hehe…" He said with an evil grin as he hovered his hand over the crystal ball before he continued speaking.

"Poppies…yes, they will do nicely…Poppies…Poppies will put them to sleep…sleep…now they will sleep…"

As he chanted those words, the flower meadow began to change with red poppies suddenly appearing from the ground, ready to release their poison-filled aroma once the turtles have gone near them.

Speaking of the turtles, Mikey and his three brothers and pet Klunk had just reached the forest clearing and were near the flower meadow itself when he spotted the Emerald City that was not too far away from the group.

"Look, guys…There's Emerald City! We're almost there at last! Man…it's beautiful, isn't it?" Mikey said cheerfully as he looked at the big city in awe, with Klunk meowing in agreement when he saw it too.

"Yeah…it is beautiful…just like how I pictured it from the Elite Ninja Guard's stories that they told me during my training…" Leo replied in agreement with a smile on his face.

"He really must be a wonderful Wizard to live in a huge place like that…" Donnie said as excitement began to build up in his straw-filled body.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Raph asked with a smirk.

"Nothing, let's go!" Donnie answered.

"Yeah! Last one there is a rotten turtle!" Mikey shouted as he took off first into the flower meadow before the others followed his lead whilst they laughed and cheered in excitement.

However, as soon as they began their run through the meadow, the poppies released their invisible sleeping poison into the atmosphere, causing Mikey and Leo to suddenly start to slow down whilst Donnie and Raph sped on ahead of them.

"Come on, come on!" Donnie called out with encouragement in his voice.

"Yeah, hurry up!" Raph shouted afterwards, causing Mikey and Leo to speed up a little bit despite their sudden tiredness.

Donnie and Raph then stopped as they reached the halfway point towards Emerald City to allow Mikey and Leo to catch up with them. When they did, however, Donnie and Raph noticed that they were out of breath and looked very tired for some reason.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Donnie asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I-I don't know what's…going on…I just feel so…sleepy…I can't run anymore…" Mikey answered tiredly as he was starting to feel really exhausted.

"Here, give us your hand; we'll pull you along…" Donnie said as he reached out and grabbed Mikey's hand, but Mikey shook his head before he spoke.

"No…No I just…need to rest for a minute…Klunk...? Where's…Klunk…?" Mikey said before he noticed that Klunk was asleep on the ground next to him, and then he suddenly passed out and collapsed to the ground.

"Mikey, no! Don't fall asleep, we're nearly there, bro!" Donnie shouted out as he shook Mikey firmly to try and wake him up, but to no avail.

"I-I think Mikey…has the right idea…40 winks wouldn't be…a bad idea…" Leo then spoke up as he swayed and yawned at the same time.

"Hey! Don't ya start sleeping on da job too, bro! We've already got one turtle down!" Raph said firmly to Leo before he and Donnie held him upright to try and keep him awake and standing but just as they let go of him to carry Mikey, Leo collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep instantly.

"Leo, no! Not you too!" Donnie shouted in a panic as he tried to wake both Mikey and Leo up.

"I don't get it, Don; Mike and Leo are out cold but we're fine…" Raph said in frustration before he noticed something amiss with the meadow's flowers.

"Hang on…these poppies weren't here when I last came here or on any of da other days I've been here…and they're giving off a strange smell dat I never smelt before…dis must be what's making Mike and Leo sleepy…but it seems ta only affect natural beings and not us artificial beings!"

"Does this mean…that an evil spell was casted upon this flower meadow!?" Donnie asked with a theory that made his eyes and then Raph's eyes widen even more.

"Yeah, I think ya right! And I'll bet it's da work of dat stinkin' Warlord Shredder!" Raph answered with anger burning in his eyes from the thought of the Warlord doing such a cowardly act on his brothers.

"W-Well…what's should we do!? We can't carry them both to Emerald city like this…Help! Somebody, please help!" Donnie said before he started to desperately call out for help.

"Why are ya screaming fa help for!? No-one's gonna hear us out here!" Raph scolded but Donnie carried on as if he never heard him so he just followed his lead despite his doubts that nobody would respond to their plea.

"Help!" "Please, someone help us!"

Suddenly, a few white flakes appeared and fell on top of their heads, making them look up to see a faint image of Glinda waving her wand with a kind smile in the clouds before a flurry of snow appeared and began to cover the poppies as well as them.

"What da Shell…snow?" Raph questioned before he started to feel rusty again.

"Yes! It's snowing! This should help us out a lot!" Donnie cheered as he watched the snow fall and cover the poppies in a blanket of white.

A moment later, Mikey stirred and opened his eyes as he woke up and sat up slowly with a groan, which Donnie noticed straight away. "Mikey! You're awake!" He said happily with a relieved smile on his face.

"Mmm…what…? Wow, it's snowing!" Mikey said as he came around fully before he looked over to see that Klunk was also awake and was meowing whilst he went over to see him. It was then that Leo sat up with a yawn and looked at the falling snow with drowsy eyes.

"Huh…Weird weather we're having…ay, bros…?" He said sarcastically with another yawn, with Mikey and Donnie laughing next to him after he said those words. Mikey then noticed that Raph wasn't moving or talking whilst this was going on before he spotted him just standing still next to him.

"Oh, no…Look! Raph's all rusted again!"

Donnie went into action and got the oil can from the basket and started to oil Raph's mouth and head, with Mikey and Leo doing his arms and legs afterwards.

After seeing all of this unfold in the crystal ball, the Warlord Shredder growled in annoyance, knowing that his plan failed. "Curses! That Glinda…helping that freak and his companions. Well…Medallion or no Medallion, I am still powerful enough to conquer and put a stop to them!" He said evilly before he grabbed his staff and sword and left the room in a hurry.

Meanwhile, once he was mobile again, Raph and the others discussed the spell that was casted by Warlord Shredder and the snow being made by Glinda to save them, before they resumed on their journey towards Emerald City.


	8. Chapter 8-Emerald City at Last!

Chapter 8-Emerald City at Last!

It took another 15 minutes for the high-spirited turtles to get to Emerald City since it was a little further than they thought it was because the illusion made by the Warlord Shredder with the poppies had fooled them, but eventually, they reached the large entrance and Mikey wasted no time in ringing the doorbell.

A moment after doing so, a small viewing window opened above the group and the top part of a man dressed in green with short black hair on his head appeared through it, who looked at the group with a ticked off look on his face. Mikey's eyes went wide when he saw the man's face because he looked just like his human friend, Casey!

"Hey! Who rang dat bell!?" The man asked loudly and firmly.

"We did!" The turtle group replied.

"Well can't ya read da sign?" The man then asked.

"What sign?" The group answered back with a confused look on their faces.

"Da sign right there! On da door, it's plain as da nose on my face! It's-Huh? Err…" The man answered their question as he pointed on the plain door before he noticed that there really was no sign on it and looked around frantically to find it nowhere else. He then went back in and grabbed the sign to come back out and hang it on the side of the door before he went back in and shut the viewing window's door.

"Bell out of order. Please knock!" The group read out aloud in unison before Mikey knocked on the door and the man opened the viewing window again, but he was in a happier mood this time.

"Well, dat's more like it! Now, state ya business!" He demanded.

"We wanna see the Wizard!" The turtle group answered in unison, causing the man to gasp and widen his eyes before he spoke.

"Da Wizard…!? But nobody can see da Great Oz! Nobody has ever seen him, even I haven't seen him…"

"Well then, how do you know there is one?" Mikey asked him curiously.

"Because he's da…w-well…Oh…Look, ya wasting my time!" The man said in frustration and was about to shut the small window door in their faces before Raph spoke up with an angry look on his face.

"Hey look, pal, we came a long way ta get here and we are not going anywhere until we see da Wizard, so ya better open dis door right now or I'll-" Raph shook his fist as he was talking but he was then cut off by Mikey.

"Easy, Raphie-boy…Please, sir…What my friend was trying to say is that we all came here from far away because we really need to see the Wizard. Glinda the Good Witch of the North also sent me here."

"Okay, prove it!" The man demanded.

"He's wearing the Medallion of Light that she passed on to him…!" Donnie said with Leo and Raph nodding in agreement as he pointed at the Medallion to show the doorman who looked at it in shock and awe before he spoke.

"Whoa…, so he is! Well, bust my buttons and call me Casey! Why didn't ya say so in da first place!? Come on in, ha ha ha!"

Casey shut the window door and then opened the large door to allow the turtle group, who looked at one another with smiles on their faces, inside the city.

Once they stepped inside, they looked around to see many people in all shapes and sizes dressed in green, and the buildings were also structured in almost the same way as each other whilst they shined in a dazzling shade of Emerald Green.

"Wow…This place is awesome…!" Mikey said in awe as he looked around.

"Ya got dat right…!" Raph said in agreement.

"Mmm Hmm…I really can't wait to have a look around this place…!" Leo said as he looked at the shops nearby.

"Yeah…, I have never seen such an amazing city before…since I only saw nothing but corn fields where I'm from…" Donnie said in agreement.

"_Hello and welcome to Emerald City, young travellers!_"

The turtles jumped slightly and looked at each other after a loud voice suddenly echoed around them from behind. When they turned around to see who it was, Mikey's eyes widened at what he saw; there standing in front of them was a tall crocodile smiling at them whilst dressed in a uniform that resembled a researcher's but it featured metal plating on his sleeves, chest and knees like a knight.

"L-Leatherhead!? No, w-wait…I mean…erm…" Mikey said before he stuttered, causing both his brothers and the armoured croc to look at him in confusion.

"Do ya know dis guy, Mikey?" Raph asked as he pointed his thumb at the croc.

"More like he _recognises _him from somewhere…" Donnie said as he rubbed his straw-filled head in thought.

"You may be right, Donnie; this is just like when he first met us yesterday…" Leo said in agreement.

"My name is indeed Leatherhead, and I am a researcher, alchemist and guard of Emerald City…I'm surprised that you already know my name even though we have only just met one another…" The crocodile said calmly as he got closer to the group whilst looking at Mikey with a warm smile.

"Y-Yeah, sorry…I-I'm Michelangelo, Mikey for short…and this is my cat, Klunk…" Mikey said as he introduced himself and his pet cat before he spoke again with a sad smile on his face.

"You see, where I'm from I have a big crocodile friend called Leatherhead who looks and talks a lot like you…" Mikey then turned his head slightly to hide his sadness due to a sudden feeling of homesickness and missing his friends building inside him, before he looked up after he felt a hand on his shoulder which belonged to Leo who gave him a warm smile to let him know that he understood how he currently feels, with Mikey nodding to tell him that he is thankful for that.

Leatherhead nodded with a hum as to say that he understood his reason for the slight confusion that occurred earlier before he looked from Mikey to the other three turtles and spoke.

"I have been tasked by the Great Wizard to look after you by giving you a tour of Emerald City as well as taking you to a place where you can freshen up and restock your supplies before you are allowed to see him."

After hearing Leatherhead's words, Mikey and his brothers looked at each other with wide eyes before they laughed a bit due to seeing how rough and dirty they looked, and then they developed big smiles as they turned to Leatherhead before Mikey spoke.

"Ok, Leatherhead…Lead the way!"

"Very well, follow me!" Leatherhead replied in the same cheerful tone due to sensing the happiness in Mikey's aura before he walked forward towards the city's shops with the turtles and Klunk following him from behind.

The turtles were first taken to a salon and spa to be given pamper treatments by the people who work there to help refresh them after their long, tiring journey;

· Mikey was given a shell wax and skin wash to clean off the dirt from his shell and body.

· Klunk was given a brush-over in his fur and had his claws filed before he had a red ribbon wrapped around his neck as a finishing touch.

· Donnie was given new straw stuffing and a tidy-up to keep all of it tucked in his body.

· Raph was given a buff and polish on his metal body to remove all the rust build-up and give him a shiny new look.

· Leo was given a treatment similar to Mikey's, but his leg was given professional medical treatment, which healed immediately after a special ointment was carefully rubbed on the wound, and his lion-skinned cloak was also given a wash and blow-dry before it was wrapped back on his body securely.

After finishing their time in the salon and spa, Leatherhead then took them to a row of different shops, where he guided them inside a weaponry shop first. Once inside, the turtles had a look around and, after a short time later, Raph spotted a brand new pair of sais whilst Donnie spotted a sturdy-looking bo staff.

"If there is a weapon that you are interested in, chose one and I will be happy to pay for them," Leatherhead told the two turtles who were awestricken and shocked after hearing this so they grabbed their chosen weapons of choice and watched on as Leatherhead gave the man in charge the money to pay for them.

Both Raph and Donnie were extremely pleased about receiving new weapons; Raph twirled his sais whilst he wore a smirk on his face as he felt happy that he didn't have to use his heavy axe all the time during battle, and Donnie felt safer and battle-ready whilst he held his bo staff since he never had a weapon of his own to not only help to protect himself but also to protect Mikey from the Warlord Shredder.

Mikey and Leo, on the other hand, were happy with the weapons that they had now, so instead, Leatherhead took them to a blacksmith at the back of the shop to give their weapons an upgrade. Leo's katana blades were repaired of any small cracks or dints and the handles were given new wrappings which featured a blue-coloured strap that matched Leo's mask, whilst Mikey's nun-chucks were given a slightly longer chain and a blade was added into one end of each nun-chuck which revealed themselves with just the press of a hidden switch added within the nun-chucks that the blades were added in.

With new and/or upgraded weapons in hand, the turtles went to an armoury and equipment shop next door, where Leo decided to buy new supply satchel bags to replace the ripped and worn out ones that he had with him before he arrived at Emerald City. He also surprised Mikey with a satchel bag of his own as a token of gratitude and friendship, which featured four little metal turtles in a circle in the middle of the bag's flap, causing Mikey to smile and hug Leo as he said, "Thanks, bro…", before he attached his new bag onto his belt and followed Leatherhead to the next shop, which was a herbal shop.

"This is where I go to buy herbs and other special ingredients for when I make my medicines and magical charms which aid the Elite Ninja Guard in battle as well as keep the Great Wizard in good health when he is ill," Leatherhead explained to the turtles before he signalled them to follow him inside.

10 minutes later…

Leatherhead and turtles left the herbal shop with a bag full of herbs and special ingredients that would allow Leatherhead to create new medicines and magical charms needed to help the Elite Ninja Guard as well as the turtles for when they may encounter the Warlord Shredder in the future.

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of screams and shouts coming from the city square so they hurried towards the area to see what was causing the noise. Once they arrived, there was a large crowd gathering in the middle of the square and the people were looking up and pointing at the sky with a terrified look on their faces.

The turtles and Leatherhead followed their line of sight and it was then that their eyes widened in horror; there in the clear blue sky was the Warlord Shredder flying in mid-air due to the large bat-like wings on his back and it looked as if he was writing something in the sky by using his staff to create a trail of black smoke as he flew.

When he finished, the turtles and Leatherhead read the message in the sky which said, "_Give me Michelangelo_", causing them to gasp and then growl at the Warlord as he looked down at them with an evil smile on his face before he spoke.

"People of Emerald City! Give me the freak named Michelangelo and the Medallion of Light, or you will all fall by my hand! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

The people looked at one another in confusion and fear since they did not know who Mikey was or what the Medallion of Light was, so they all decided to go and ask the Wizard on what should be done. However, Raph stood forward from the group, who gathered around Mikey to protect him, and shouted as loud as he could to the Warlord in the sky.

"Hey, Shred Head! Dat ain't gonna happen on our watch, so get lost!"

The Warlord chuckled darkly despite not being in the mood for patience before he spoke. "Well, it seems that there is some backbone in that tin body of yours after all. However, I will not ask again; Give. Me. Michelangelo. NOW!"

Instead of shouting back another insult, Raph walked back to his position in protecting Mikey and just shook his head at the Warlord who narrowed his eyes as his rage boiled inside him.

"Fine, then you will all die by my hand!"

With that, Warlord Shredder raised his hand and began to produce an enormous fireball which was big enough to destroy an entire city. As soon as it was ready, the Warlord threw it towards Emerald City, where its citizens screamed in horror and ran for their lives in different directions within the city before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

The turtles and Leatherhead looked at the incoming attack in horror with wide eyes before Leatherhead spoke. "Quickly, we must get inside!"

The turtles looked at each other before they nodded and began to follow Leatherhead as he headed towards the deepest part of the city. However, Mikey stopped after a few steps and looked at the fireball again before realizing that the entire city would be destroyed with his brothers and friends along with it if it hits.

"Mikey, come on!" "Hurry up!" Mikey turned his head to look at Leo and the others who had anxious and desperate looks on their faces as they tried to call Mikey when they noticed that he was lagging behind.

However, Mikey knew that no-one would survive an attack that big if he didn't do something about it, so he looked at his brothers and Leatherhead with a serious look on his face before he spoke.

"I'm sorry, bros…but I gotta stop this!"

After saying that, Mikey instantly ran back towards the square and prepared himself to make a big jump into the air, whilst Leo and the others looked on in shock and horror before they ran after him, knowing what Mikey was planning to do.

"Mikey, don't do it!" "You'll collapse again!" "Mikey, please!" "My friend!"

Their desperate cries did not get to him quick enough as Mikey jumped up high into the air and faced directly at the fireball that was getting closer to the city before he yelled out with all his heart.

"I won't let you do this, Shredder! No WAY!"

Then, the Medallion of Light shined brightly and Mikey's body and eyes also glowed in an orange aura before a force field large enough to cover the entire city appeared in front of him just before the fireball made direct contact with him. This resulted in the fireball exploding upon impact with the force field before smoke shrouded over it.

A moment later, the smoke cleared and the force field began to disappear before Mikey slowly descended towards the city square. Once he touched the ground, the Medallion became dormant and the orange aura faded from Mikey's body and his eyes returned to normal before they closed as he was about to collapse onto the hard ground.

"MIKEY!" Michelangelo!" Shouted the turtles and Leatherhead as they quickly ran towards him and Leo caught Mikey just before he hit the ground.

"Oh, no…" Donnie said in a worried tone when he saw Mikey's current condition.

"Mikey? Can ya hear us?" Raph said desperately as he watched Mikey breathe heavily and sweat profusely as his pale body shook slightly.

"This isn't good, you guys…he needs medical attention, now!" Leo said firmly to the others whilst he held an ailing Mikey in his arms and watched Klunk as he brushed against his master to get him to respond but to no avail.

"Let us take you to the Wizard, he will help your friend…"

The turtles and Leatherhead turned their heads to the left to see a group of ninja warriors standing next to them, much to Leo's surprise as he recognised them instantly.

"The Elite Ninja Guard!?"

"That is correct, young one, and we saw what had transpired earlier and wish to help the one who risked his life to protect Emerald City…" One of the ninjas replied before he looked at Mikey.

"Really!? Do you really think the Wizard can help him?" Donnie asked desperately in concern for his little brother's health and wellbeing.

"Do not worry, he will know what to do in situations like this…Come," the same ninja answered before he and another member, who brought a sturdy-looking stretcher over with him, helped Leo to carefully place Mikey onto the stretcher and began to walk towards to where the Wizard was living, with a worried Klunk, a group of turtles and Leatherhead following them from behind.


	9. Chapter 9-Meeting the Wizard

Chapter 9-Meeting the Wizard

The turtles and Leatherhead entered the Wizard's chambers with the Elite Ninja Guard, who were carrying a severely exhausted Mikey before one of the members banged on a large gong to alert the Wizard of their presence.

"_Who is it?_" A powerful voice echoed in the room, causing the three older turtles to jump slightly in surprise.

"Great Wizard! We have an emergency!" He yelled in an urgent tone.

"_Very well…come inside, quickly!_" The large doors suddenly opened after the voice spoke again.

The group didn't have to be told twice as they swiftly entered the Wizard's chambers and the doors closed immediately afterwards. Leo, Raph and Donnie looked around the room before they heard footsteps approaching them from an open doorway in front of them.

Then, a small cloaked figure with a masked face appeared from the shadows of the entrance and walked slowly towards the Elite Ninja Guard with a serious look after noticing Mikey on the stretcher before speaking to the Head Guard.

"What has happened? I see you have a casualty with you…"

"Warlord Shredder happened, Great Wizard! He tried to destroy Emerald City with his powerful magic but this brave young creature saved us all by creating a force field using the Medallion of Light. Alas, it had cost him greatly by draining him of almost all his spiritual energy…" The Head Guard explained in a serious but calm voice, causing the three turtles to gasp in shock and surprise after they heard the words 'Great Wizard' when the Head Guard addressed the cloaked figure.

"I see…the Medallion of Light…I thought that it had been well hidden, but I was wrong…" The Great Wizard said sadly as he approached the stretcher and looked at Mikey to assess his condition before he heard Leo speak up nervously.

"P-Please…help our brother and friend…"

"You will help him, won't you…? Please, Great Wizard?" Donnie pleaded.

"Yeah, we owe him fa saving us more than once before…" Raph said afterwards.

The Great Wizard looked at the three older turtles and then back at Mikey as he hummed in thought for what needed to be done to help him before he turned to Leatherhead as he spoke.

"Professor Leatherhead, I need you to go into my potion room and make the medicines needed for spiritual healing immediately!"

"Yes, Great Wizard! Right away!" Leatherhead said before he left for the Wizard's potion room to make the medicines needed for Mikey, and the Wizard then commanded the Elite Ninja Guard to take Mikey into his room where it was quiet with no disturbance before he looked at the three older turtles.

"I will do everything I can to help your brother and friend recover. You may go and be with him as long as you remain quiet whilst I give him his treatment, understood?" He said in a serious but soft voice after he saw the worried looks on their faces.

"Yes, Great Wizard!" The three turtles answered in unison as they bowed at him in thanks and then walked towards the Wizard's bedroom to be with Mikey to support him, with Klunk following them from behind after meowing 'thanks' to the Wizard who smiled and slowly walked into his room afterwards.

1 hour later…

The Great Wizard sadly but calmly observed the three older brothers as they did their bit in making sure that Mikey was comfortable whilst they waited for Leatherhead with the medicines; Donnie was trying to cool Mikey down with a damp cloth and a bowl of water after finding out that he had a slight fever once they brought him in there, whilst Leo and Raph each held one of Mikey's hands and giving them a gentle squeeze to let him know that they were there for him.

"By the way, I was not informed of your names…Would you like to introduce yourselves, please…" The Great Wizard said after a moment of silence as he watched the turtles look at each other before Leo nervously spoke first.

"Erm…I-I'm Leonardo…"

"I'm Raphael…" Raph said next.

"And I'm Donatello…" Donnie said next before he looked at Mikey and Klunk. "This is Michelangelo and his pet cat, Klunk…"

The Great Wizard nodded and hummed in satisfaction after learning their names before he saw Klunk approach him and rubbed against his cloaked body, so he petted the small cat gently with a smile before he spoke again.

"It is an honour to meet you all…I am the Great Wizard of Oz who lives as an advisor and healer for all living beings of Oz including Emerald City. I believe that you have all come here to ask for my help and not just heal Michelangelo…" The older turtles gasped quietly and their eyes widened when they heard that the Wizard discovered their true reason for meeting him.

"H-How did you…?" Leo started to speak before the Wizard looked at him and smiled warmly.

"I am a Wizard; it is my job to know these things before they happen, after all…" He said in amusement.

Then, Leatherhead arrived inside the Wizard's room with the medicines needed for the Great Wizard to start the spiritual healing process.

"I will need some space to work on healing Michelangelo…Would it be alright if all of you stood and waited over there, next to the study table?" The Wizard said as he pointed towards his study table.

"Yes, Great Wizard…" The turtles replied and got up from where they were sat next to Mikey and walked towards the study table with Leatherhead to give the Wizard plenty of space to work on healing Mikey.

Once he was in a suitable position next to Mikey, the Wizard picked up and opened one of Leatherhead's hand-made medicines, which contained a sparkling gold-colour liquid, and placed a hand underneath Mikey's head to lift it up slightly before he slowly poured the medicine into Mikey's mouth and lowered his head back down onto the pillow.

The Wizard then opened another medicine bottle, which contained green-coloured grounded herbs, and poured the contents into a bowl full of white cream before mixing them both together into a herb-filled ointment. He then picked up a small stick and dipped it in the ointment before he drew mysterious shapes onto Mikey's legs, arms, stomach, chest and head with it.

When he was done, the Wizard closed his eyes and began to chant words of an unknown language whilst hovering his hands over Mikey's body. The older turtles and Leatherhead watched in awe as the markings on Mikey's body began to glow and energy gathered in his solar plexus before it spread throughout his body, surrounding him in a bright orange aura in a similar way that the Medallion created.

A couple of minutes later, the Wizard stopped chanting and opened his eyes and he watched as the glowing markings on Mikey's body faded with Mikey breathing a little better than he was earlier even though he still had a slight fever, which was visible due to the amount of sweat his forehead was producing. The Wizard then covered Mikey with a blanket before he turned his head to the side where the others were standing and spoke with a warm smile.

"Michelangelo will be fine after a good night's rest. You are welcome to stay with him overnight if you wish and we will discuss your reason for coming here tomorrow…"

The turtles and Leatherhead breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the good news and they all bowed and said their thanks as the Wizard left before they gathered around Mikey who was sleeping peacefully. Klunk wasted no time and curled up next to his master's head to let him know that he was there for him before he went to sleep.

"Oh, Mikey…" Donnie said with a sad but relieved look on his face before he placed a hand on Mikey's blanket-covered chest.

"Why did ya have ta go and play hero like dat, huh…? Ya could've gotten yourself killed, bro…" Raph said in a disappointed but concern tone as he held one of Mikey's hands in his own.

"I don't think he did what he did just to try and be a hero, Raph; he risked severe exhaustion again to save us and everyone else in Emerald City because he cared about us and wanted to protect us, no matter the cost…" Leo corrected Raph before he looked at Mikey with a sad but proud look on his face.

Everyone looked at Leo after hearing his explanation before they eventually nodded in agreement and then looked at Mikey with warm smiles. They all knew that despite his care-free and kid spirited nature, Mikey would risk his own health and safety to make sure that everyone around him was unharmed and safe.

"I believe that I shall return to my home and allow you to rest for the night…See you all tomorrow, my friends…" Leatherhead said after a moment of silence before he took his leave and waved goodbye to the turtles, who waved back before they prepared their own beds next to Mikey to spend the night in the Wizard's home.

"Goodnight, my brothers…" Leo said as he settled into his blanket and fell asleep seconds later.

"Goodnight…" Raph and Donnie replied in unison before they too snuggled into their blankets and fell asleep instantly.

After they all fell asleep, they didn't notice that Mikey had developed a small smile on his face as if he sensed his brothers' presence around him before he settled into a deeper sleep.


	10. Chapter 10-A Brotherly Talk

Chapter 10-A Brotherly Talk

The morning sun shined warmly through the window of the Wizard's bedroom as it rose slowly up to the clear blue sky.

Leo was the first turtle to awaken and he sat up and stretched his arms as he yawned. A minute later, he saw Raph wake up and do the same stretches as he did and Donnie and Klunk followed suit another minute after.

"Good morning, you two," Leo said with a warm smile before he stroked Klunk when he came over to him.

"Mornin'…" "Morning, Leo…" Raph and Donnie replied back tiredly before they and Leo turned to look at Mikey who was still asleep, but they noticed that something was slightly different when they looked at his face.

"Hey, he's smilin'…" Raph pointed out first with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah…This must mean that he's doing ok, now…Right?" Leo said with slight relief and anxiety in his voice before he watched Donnie place a hand on Mikey's forehead to check his temperature.

"You're right, Leo…Mikey's fever is gone…" Donnie said with a relieved smile on his face.

"Well dat's good ta hear…now he just needs ta wake up," Raph said in a slightly impatient tone due to not wanting to wait too long for Mikey to wake up.

A moment after saying that, a groaning sound was heard from the sleeping orange-masked turtle who was also slightly turning his head back and forth as his eyes were beginning to twitch.

"Mikey?" Leo and Donnie called out softly before they watched as Mikey's eyes slowly began to open.

"Dat's it, bro…rise and shine…" Raph cheered softly whilst he held one of Mikey's hands for support.

Soon, Mikey's eyes were fully opened and his vision cleared to allow him to see his brothers and companions looking down at him with relieved smiles on their faces. "H-Hey, bros…" He said tiredly with a small smile on his face.

"Hey, sleepyhead…how are you feeling?" Donnie replied as he gently stroked Mikey's head with his thumb.

"Tired…and why does my body feel…so heavy…?" Mikey answered as he tried to move his body a bit before he felt Leo's hand on his chest which stopped him from moving.

"Easy, Mikey…you suffered from exhaustion again, but it was more severe this time when you collapsed and became unresponsive after you used the Medallion of Light to protect the whole of Emerald City from the Warlord Shredder's huge fireball attack…" Leo explained with a sad smile with the others nodding in agreement to what he said.

"Oh…W-Where are we now?" Mikey asked after sensing that he was somewhere else.

"We're all in the Great Wizard's room," Donnie answered before he watched as Mikey gasped and his eyes widened and then continued speaking. "The Elite Ninja Guard carried you in here under the Wizard's request and he healed you by using the spiritual medicines made by Leatherhead, and you've been asleep ever since…"

"T-The Great Wizard!?" Mikey said in shock and awe after he heard what Donnie just said.

"Yeah, he was da one who saved ya sorry butt from almost dying from exhaustion…! How many times do we have ta tell ya not ta do dat again, bro!?" Raph said firmly to Mikey as his voice got louder due to feeling angry inside because he felt that his warning was never taken on board.

This caused Mikey and the others to gasp and look at Raph in shock when he heard the words of anger come out of the tin turtle. "I-I'm sorry…I-" He tried to explain himself but Raph wouldn't let him.

"Don't even think about apologizin' ta us cos we all know, including me, dat you're just gonna put your life on da line again and again without even thinkin' about da consequences! How could you be so stupid!? Are ya tryin' ta prove somethin' ta us!?"

"Raph, calm down! Mikey just woke up and you're scolding him without giving him the chance to explain his reasons for his actions!" Leo said firmly but calmly whilst bravely placing a hand on Raph's shoulder, causing the tin turtle to growl as he turned to look at the lion-cloaked turtle.

"Mikey, what are you…?" Leo and Raph turned to Donnie after he called out Mikey's name before their eyes softened at the sight; Mikey's his eyes were wide and tears began to develop whilst he tried to sit himself up with Donnie's assistance despite his body was shaking slightly. He also kept his head low to avoid eye contact with his brothers as he started to talk in a quiet tone.

"Y-You're right…"

The older turtles looked at each other before Raph spoke in the same tone but this time with a hint of confusion. "Huh? What da ya mean 'I'm right'?"

"I…I-" Mikey tried to answer but he covered his face with his hand as he suddenly began to sob in Donnie's hold.

"Hey, hey…it's ok, Mikey…take your time. No-one will pressure you, ok?" Donnie said soothingly to his little brother whilst rubbing his shell-covered back before giving Raph a sharp look, warning him to not interrupt him as he tried to explain his actions.

"Sniff…I-I didn't mean to cause more worry or trouble for you guys…I was trying to be there for you guys cos…I'm just sick of being told by my brothers, especially Raph, back home that I'm useless and that I don't do enough to help them more…"

"Especially Raph? What happened between you and _your_ Raph back at your home in New York?" Leo questioned softly as he looked from Mikey to Raph, whose angry face softened after hearing the first part of Mikey's explanation.

"W-Well, I was on bed rest for over a week due to a bad throat infection, which needed to be fixed through surgery, and during that time Raph thought that…I would have been better off as my brothers' sidekick or mascot because… I was useless and hardly helpful to them due to being ill for a whole week…that's why when I met you guys and needed my help…, I wanted to try and be there for you guys more so that I can be a better brother and ninja… for my family…" Mikey finished his explanation whilst he tried but failed to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks.

The older turtles looked at Mikey with wide eyes due to the shock and disbelief from what he had just said before their faces saddened. They couldn't believe that Mikey had put his own life at risk many times before for them because he wanted to prove to them and his brothers back home that he is useful and is a vital part of the team and family as well.

Raph, now feeling guilty for raising his voice at Mikey for just trying to protect him and the others slowly moved in front of Mikey and placed a hand under his chin to gently lift his watery face up to look at him before he spoke.

"Hey, ya ain't useless, Mike…none of us think dat and we know dat your bros back home don't really think dat either…Da reason why I was mad at ya earlier was cos I was scared dat there was a chance dat we'd lose ya, bro…"

"Wha…" Mikey breathed out in disbelief after he heard what Raph said before Donnie spoke next.

"He's right, Mikey; we owe you for helping us get this far to see the Great Wizard so that our wishes would be granted…"

"W-Well, why haven't you done that yet? You're in the Great Wizard's place, after all…" Mikey said miserably when he found out that they had yet to get their wishes fulfilled by the Great Wizard of Oz because he was holding them back, in his opinion anyway.

"And leave you behind? No way, Mikey…without you, I wouldn't be able to talk to the Wizard on my own at all…" Leo answered before he shivered with the thought of asking the Wizard to grant his wish alone without Mikey and the others.

"Yeah, and I might forget how to explain my wish to the Wizard since I don't have a brain like yours to remember it…" Donnie then said before he lightly tapped his straw-filled head, causing Mikey to laugh a little.

"And even though I don't have a heart, I would have felt heartbroken if ya weren't there ta help us get our wishes, bro…I'm sorry fa being harsh on ya earlier…" Raph said with a sad smile.

"No, you had every right to yell at me, Raph…I charged in to stop that fireball without thinking about what would happen afterwards…I should be apologizing to _you_, not the other way round…" Mikey said in denial since he felt responsible for causing his brothers to worry after his near-death experience.

"Dat's not true, bro; what ya did fa us just proved how caring and brave you are…" Raph countered back as he held Mikey's hand in his own and squeezed it gently.

"Raph's right, Mikey…and you even jumped in to save someone who was a stranger to you back then. That just shows us that you always make sure to hear both sides of the argument before you make a choice, no matter the risks…" Leo said in agreement as he pointed to himself when he spoke about the 'stranger' part in his explanation.

"Yeah, bro… and even though we're not your _real_ brothers, we're all proud to say that you're the greatest brother and friend that anyone of us could ever hope to have…" Donnie said proudly before he gave Mikey a sideways hug.

Mikey was left stunned and gobsmacked at what the older turtles said to him as he looked at them with wide eyes. He then smiled with tears of happiness developing in his eyes before he opened his arms wide, signalling his brothers to have a group hug which they accepted with smiles on their faces.

"_Ah, I see that Michelangelo has awakened and is well again…_"

The turtles released each other after they were startled by a voice coming from behind them. When they turned around, they saw the Great Wizard standing in the doorway with one of the Elite Ninja Guard members carrying a tray, which had five cups and a pot of what seemed to be warm tea as well as a bowl of fruit and a saucer of milk for Klunk.

"Good morning, young ones…" The Wizard said softly with a warm smile as he got closer to the group.

"Good morning, Great Wizard," The three older turtles replied whilst Mikey just sat and looked at the Wizard with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"Err…G-Good morning, sir…" He said nervously after he snapped out of his shock from meeting the Great Wizard for the first time since he was unconscious when the group first met him.

"It is good to see that you are awake, Michelangelo…How are you feeling?" The Great Wizard asked as he poured the tea into the four cups and handed the turtles a cup each.

"Erm…I feel better than I was before…I was told that you were the one who healed me. Thank you, sir…" Mikey answered and then bowed his head slightly when he said his thanks to the Great Wizard before he took a sip of his tea.

"Your welcome, Michelangelo, it is my job as the ruler of Oz to help those in need…Also, there is no need to be so formal; you may call me Great Wizard…" The Wizard said whilst still wearing his warm smile.

"Oh, right…sorry, sir- I mean, Great Wizard…" Mikey said in embarrassment whilst the other turtles giggled and looked at him with amused smiles when he stuttered his words.

After being given some time to finish their tea and fruit, the Great Wizard put his serious face on and began to speak. "Michelangelo, I have been notified that you are not from this world, correct?" Mikey nodded before he continued.

"I have also been told that you are wearing the Medallion of Light around your neck, and you have also used its power to protect those around you as well. Is this also true?"

"Y-Yes, Great Wizard…Glinda the Good Witch of the North used her magic to transfer it from Karai the Bad Witch of the East to me out of nowhere, and she told me to protect it with my life. The Medallion also activates on its own whenever I try to protect my friends and I can't control it or avoid using it, no matter how hard I try…It scares me cos it takes a lot of energy out of me afterwards…" Mikey explained before he lowered his head due to feeling ashamed that he used a powerful artefact without permission.

"I see…It seems that Glinda was wise to give you the task of protecting the Medallion of Light from the Warlord Shredder, despite the lack of knowledge on how to control its power…" The Great Wizard said as he stroked his beard in thought before he continued. "However, I believe that it is time for me to tell you the story of the Medallion of Light itself…"

The turtles' eyes went wide and decided to gather around the Wizard with Klunk sitting on Mikey's lap so that they could listen closely to the Wizard's story about the Medallion of Light in order to know more about it. Once they were settled, the Wizard began his story.


	11. Chapter 11-The Legend of the Medallion

Chapter 11-The Legend of the Medallion of Light

"Many years ago, there was a great war that affected the entire land of Oz. It was a battle between the Hamato Clan, who wanted to live in a place of peace and harmony with others, and the Foot Clan, who wanted to dominate the land of Oz through the use of cruel methods and with an iron fist…"

"The battle sustained heavy casualties but neither side showed any signs of backing down, with the clan leaders, Master Yoshi of the Hamato Clan and Oroku Saki of the Foot Clan, going head-to-head each time they crossed swords with one another…"

The turtles gasped in shock before the Wizard continued on.

"Then, one day, a large white and orange-coloured dragon called Celestia appeared during the battle between Yoshi and Saki and looked over both clans fighting on the battlefield before she spoke to the clan leaders.

'_Humans, this war has gone on long enough…Why have you not yet dropped your swords and made peace with one another?_'

"It was then that both clan leaders explained their reasons why they fought one another for the land of Oz. After hearing them out, Celestia turned her head towards Saki and spoke to him in a firm voice.

'_Do you really believe that __the people of Oz will follow a leader who only cares about power and control over those he cares about? You are a fool to believe in such a thing!'_

"Oroku Saki was not happy with what Celestia told him and decided to release a powerful but dark dragon through the use of a forbidden magic spell that would make it rise from the depths of the Earth…"

"A dark dragon…?" Mikey said with wide eyes before he saw the Great Wizard nod with a grimaced look on his face and continued with his story.

"The dark dragon was a beast whose power was born from the realm of darkness. His name was Ragnerus..."

"R-Ragnerus? But I thought he was just a myth…" Leo said with fear in his voice after hearing that name, but the Wizard shook his head to tell him that what he said was true before he continued.

"Celestia was enraged when she saw Ragnerus appear in front of her and Master Yoshi, and they both prepared themselves as Saki and the dark dragon charged towards them and attacked, resuming their battle."

"After hours of brutal conflict, both sides were on the brink of collapsing due to exhaustion and the severity of their wounds. However, both Saki and Ragnerus did not want to go down without finishing off Master Yoshi and Celestia first, so Saki decided to cast a spell that would merge him with the dark dragon to become one powerful being!"

"What!?" The turtles said in unison when they heard that Saki and Ragnerus merged into one being before they listened again to the Wizard's story.

"Celestia and Master Yoshi were both shocked at this, of course, before they watched on as Saki and Ragnerus prepared an attack that could destroy not just them but the entire battlefield that contained hundreds of clan members from both sides. Celestia couldn't bear to see any more lives be lost due to one's selfish desire for power and greed, so she looked at Master Yoshi with a determined look on her face before she spoke.

'_I cannot allow them do this, young warrior. The move that I will make to stop them may put an end to my life upon impact, but I am willing to make this sacrifice if it means protecting everyone who resides in the land of Oz…"_

"Master Yoshi was left stunned and unable to say anything that would change Celestia's mind since she had already set her heart in the decision she just made, so he nodded to her before he watched as Celestia began to glow with her body being surrounded by a warm orange aura."

The turtles looked at each other when they heard the last sentence as they realised that this reminded them of when Mikey experienced the same glowing sensation whilst he tried to protect his companions during their journey to Emerald City before they turned back to the Wizard as he spoke again.

"Then, Celestia flew towards the merged beast as her entire body glowed even brighter to take the form of a shooting star, and it was just when the beast was about to release his attack that Celestia struck him in the heart, resulting in an enormous explosion upon impact…"

The turtles gasped, with Mikey covering his mouth with one of his hands, and their hearts began to beat faster due to anxiety and nervousness building up inside them as they prepare themselves for what the Wizard was about to say next.

"When the smoke cleared in the sky, there were no signs of Celestia or the merged beast…but all that was left were two glowing gemstones; one was glowing in an ominous dark aura, and the other was glowing in a warm orange aura. Master Yoshi looked at them both in awe before he managed to catch the orange gemstone as it descended towards the ground, and it was then that he heard a faint but recognisable voice speak to him; it was Celestia.

'_Young warrior…keep my gem safe…ensure that no-one with selfish desires…lays a hand on it…my soul will rest on…within this stone…until someone with a pure, kind heart…can release me when the time comes…good luck…'_

"Master Yoshi held the gemstone close to his chest as he mourned for the sacrifice of the brave light dragon, Celestia, and he looked up again to see that the dark gemstone had disappeared…"

"Despite this, Master Yoshi decided to respect Celestia's wish and have the gemstone disguised as a medallion and be sealed away under heavy guard in order to protect it from being placed in the wrong hands…"

"And that is the story of the Medallion of Light…"

After the Wizard ended the story, the turtles' eyes began to widen before they looked at Mikey who was holding and looking at the Medallion around his neck in shock and surprise when he figured out what it actually was.

"So... this gem in the Medallion of Light…is actually the light dragon, Celestia?" Mikey questioned as he looked back up to make eye contact with the Wizard.

"That is correct, Michelangelo. It is said that when a dragon's life has ended, their spirit manifests into a gemstone which varies in colour and power depending on its element. Celestia was known as the Dragon of Light, hence the name 'The Medallion of Light' that you are currently wearing now," The Wizard answered with a warm smile.

"And does the cause of Mikey's severe exhaustion after using it have something to do with the same effects that ended Celestia's life?" Donnie asked in order to find out if the two cases are related in some way.

"Hmmm, Celestia's power did have its limits to a point where she would become very exhausted or pass out from the strain of overusing it, but it was when she defeated Saki and Ragnerus that she used _all _of her power, resulting in her losing her own life in order to do so…" The Great Wizard answered before he watched Mikey caress the Medallion in his hands and place it on his chest with closed eyes and a sad look on his face in response to his answer.

"I…don't know what to say…I never knew…" Mikey said quietly in disbelief before the Great Wizard placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he spoke.

"It is alright, Michelangelo; it was Celestia's choice to sacrifice her life to save those she cared dearly about…and your heart's desire to protect those you care about had unexpectedly reawakened her power within her gemstone…she would be very proud of you, young one…" This caused Mikey to develop a sad smile on his face as he looked up at the Great Wizard with a surprised look on his face.

"Great Wizard, did anyone find out what happened to the darker gemstone after it disappeared?" Leo asked in curiosity after he heard that the other gemstone disappeared shortly after the battle ended.

The Wizard bowed his head as he sighed sadly before he spoke. "I'm afraid no-one came forward to say its whereabouts, but it is possible that Ragnerus' gemstone had produced itself whilst still merged with Oroku Saki's body and mind, resulting in the creation of a reborn version of both beings in one body..."

The turtles gasped deeply and then looked at each other with wide eyes, all of them thinking the same thing whilst feeling a sense of dread coursed through their bodies.

"Y-You don't think…" Leo said fearfully whilst shaking in fear.

"No way…" Donnie said whilst slowly shaking his head, trying to deny the possibility of what they are all thinking.

"It can't be a coincidence, though…" Raph said in thought with a serious look on his face before all three of them heard Mikey speak.

"Great Wizard, I-I think we might have met with the reincarnated scary-looking dude a few times on our way over here, and he calls himself the Warlord Shredder!"

The Wizard's eyes widened and gasped in shock after hearing Mikey's description of their evil stalker before he closed his eyes and bowed his head whilst he hummed in concern.

"I had a feeling that it might be him since I have heard rumours and stories from the city's residence about a dark-clothed figure wearing a helmet, which resembled the Kuro Kabuto that Oroku Saki wore during the war, being spotted terrorizing people and villages in the land of Oz, for the sole purpose of looking for the Medallion of Light…"

The turtles looked at each other before they looked at Leo with a concerned look on their faces when they saw his anguish-filled face.

"So, my village wasn't the only one that was invaded and destroyed by Warlord Shredder…" Leo said in frustration as he rubbed his now healed but scarred leg as he remembered his encounter with the Warlord and his destroyed village.

"I'm afraid so…but now that the rumours are indeed true, we will need to find a way to defeat him as well as protect the Medallion of Light at the same time," The Great Wizard said in a serious tone before he looked at the four turtles as he spoke again. "Which is why I have decided to task you with a mission…"

"What!?" The turtles said in unison before Donnie spoke.

"B-But we have yet to tell you our reasons for coming here…"

"There is no need for you to tell me, because I overheard you talking about it as I got closer to the bedroom door earlier this morning," The Great Wizard said with a warm smile on his face before he continued. "However, you must first prove to me that you are worthy enough to have your wishes granted…"

"So…are you saying that if we are to get our wishes, we need to do something for you in exchange?" Mikey said whilst scratching his head in thought.

"That is correct, Michelangelo…If you and your brothers defeat the Warlord Shredder and bring proof of his defeat, I will happily grant all of you your wishes…" The Great Wizard answered with a nod.

Mikey and his brothers looked at each once more before they all nodded with determined looks on their faces and then turned to the Great Wizard and Mikey said, "Ok, we accept."

"A wise answer, young ones…Now, I will go and call Leatherhead; he will help you prepare for the task ahead…" The Great Wizard said with a nod before he got up and started to slowly walk towards the room exit, and then he turned to look at the turtles and spoke again. "When he arrives, meet him at the entrance. I bid you all good luck…"

"Thank you, Great Wizard." The turtles said before they watched him leave and then turned to look at each other.

"Alright, bros, let's complete this mission and get our wishes granted!" Mikey said confidently with determination before he raised a hand in the middle of the turtles and the others placed their hands on top of it and said in unison,

"Yeah!"


	12. Chapter 12-Preparations

Chapter 12-Preparations

After waiting in the Great Wizard's bedroom for another 10 minutes, the turtles were soon called by the Great Wizard to come and meet with Leatherhead at his front door.

As soon as they arrived and opened the door, the turtles saw Leatherhead standing in front of them wearing a relieved smile on his face when he saw Mikey now awake and looking well again.

"Michelangelo, I am glad to see you are awake and moving around again, my friend…" He said before he held out a hand for Mikey to shake, which he does so with a smile of his own.

"Thanks, Leatherhead. It's good to _be _up and about again…We were told by the Great Wizard that you have come to help us prepare for the upcoming mission, is that right?" Mikey said.

"That is correct, my friend…. come, I will take you to my workspace where everything is ready for you," Leatherhead replied before he started walking towards where his workplace was located, with the turtles and Klunk following him closely from behind.

Once they arrived at Leatherhead's place and were guided inside, the turtles and Klunk looked around with wide curious eyes, Donnie especially, when they saw a number of herb and powder-filled bottles in cabinets and books in a large bookcase within the room they were in as well as the scientific equipment and a range of warrior gear in another room.

"Wow…it's like we're in a place that has everything one needs for both fighting and alchemy…I like it!" Donnie said in awe as he looked at all the cabinets, books and weapons.

"Maybe, but I like da weapons best," Raph said as he rolled his eyes at the scarecrow turtle when he saw his reaction to everything in the building, with Leo nodding in agreement.

"It is a really cool place to live in, and it suits you well, Leatherhead…" Mikey said as he looked at his large scaly friend with a sunny smile, with Klunk meowing as if agreeing with his master.

"Thank you, Michelangelo. I have lived and worked here for over a decade now and it was thanks to the Great Wizard that I was given a chance to live a happy life and be able to help people instead of being feared by those who misunderstand me for who I really am…" Leatherhead said before he lowered his head whilst a sad smile developed on his face.

"Gosh…Hey, I get how you feel cos the Leatherhead I know in New York had a similar experience before he met me and my family…" Mikey said softly as he placed a comforting hand on Leatherhead's shoulder before he continued. "You're a great guy, Leatherhead, and I'm sure that lots of people would be happy to have you as a friend if only they could just take a moment of their time to get to know you better, instead of judging you immediately after a second of meeting you…"

This caused Leatherhead to look up at Mikey with a surprised look on his face; no-one, except the Great Wizard, had ever spoken to him in such a kind way, and he could sense the bright positive aura within Mikey as soon as he saw his sunny smile which resulted in him developing tears of happiness.

"Thank you, my friend…that means a lot to me…" Leatherhead said before he wrapped an arm around Mikey's shoulders and gave him a sideways hug, which Mikey returned by wrapping his arms around Leatherhead's waist and laid his head on his front. The other turtles and Klunk watched on with proud smiles before the two released the hug and Leatherhead spoke.

"Now, I have prepared the necessary potions and tools that you will need in order to complete your mission in defeating the Warlord Shredder…" Leatherhead picked up a box that contained a number of bottles containing different types of liquids and herbs as well as bandages and shurikens.

"What is inside the bottles, Leatherhead?" Donnie asked out of curiosity when he looked at the little bottles on the table.

"Each bottle contains their own types of remedies and magic; the one with the green herbs will cure any poisonous ailments when mixed in warm water, the one with the yellow-coloured liquid will cure paralysis, and the one containing silver-coloured powder will put an enemy to sleep for 3 hours when thrown at them…" Leatherhead explained whilst he picked up each bottle during the process.

"And I'm guessing that these bandages are for patching up wounds and the shuriken stars are used for a long-range attack?" Leo asked as he curiously looked at the other items on the table.

"Correct, Leonardo…each of you will have your own set of potions, shuriken and first aid supplies in case you either get separated from each other or one of you accidentally loses their supplies…" Leather answered before he handed each turtle their organised bag of supplies.

"Thank you, Leatherhead!" The turtles said in unison as they bowed with a grateful smile on their faces.

Leatherhead smiled and bowed back to them before he asked them to follow him out of his workspace and towards the Emerald City gate where the turtles first entered the city from. He then asked Casey to open the gate, which he does without any problems before he turned to look at the turtles whilst taking out an old scroll as he spoke.

"My friends, the mission that you are tasked to do will be dangerous so I must advise you to never let your guard down and to stay strong for each other…" The turtles nodded before Leatherhead handed Mikey the scroll and continued. "This map will guide you to the abandoned castle where it is believed to be where the Warlord Shredder is based…"

"Thanks, buddy…We promise that we'll be careful, right, bros?" Mikey said before he turned to look at his brothers.

"Right!" They answered Mikey with determined looks on their faces before they all heard Leatherhead speak once more.

"Michelangelo, the Great Wizard has one more piece of advice to give you which concerns the Medallion of Light…"

"Oh? W-What is it?" Mikey asked cautiously since he had a feeling that it was going to be about something serious.

Leatherhead placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder before he spoke. "He said that you must only use the Medallion's power when it is extremely important since using it too early or during a random battle will drain you instantly and leave you defenceless against the Warlord and his minions. In other words, only use its power during your fight against the Warlord and him alone, do you understand?"

"I-I…" Mikey stuttered before he looked down slightly and bit his lip as the feeling of nervousness and uncertainty began to build up within him since he still did not know how to control the Medallion's power as it activates on its own whenever Mikey tried to protect those important to him.

"Hey, Mike…you'll be fine, cos we'll remind ya when da time is right ta use it," Raph suddenly said from behind Mikey who turned around to see the tin turtle smirk at him and gave him a thumbs up.

"That's right, Mikey; we're all here for you, just like you are there for us…" Leo said in agreement as he went over and placed a hand on Mikey's other shoulder.

"Yeah, and we will also protect you too because we love you, little brother…" Donnie said with a warm smile before he saw Klunk walk over to Mikey and rubbed against his feet to say that he agreed with Donnie.

Mikey looked from one brother to another with a surprised look on his face before his eyes filled with tears of happiness and relief and then gave them all a brotherly group hug.

"Thank you…so much, bros…" Mikey said before he released the hug and began wiping his tears away.

"No worries, Mikey…now, let's get this mission done!" Leo said with a roar.

"Yeah!" The other turtles cheered to Leo's words before they turned to Leatherhead and bowed to him, which he returned and began to enter back into Emerald City, before they turned towards the path that would lead them to the Warlord Shredder's location and began to follow it, with the map in Mikey's hands.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the Warlord Shredder watched what had just transpired through the crystal ball and learned that the turtles were on their way to his location to put a stop to him once and for all. This made him frustrated and enraged at first, but then an evil smile developed on his face as an idea popped up in his mind.

"If those turtle freaks think that they can stop me, then they've got another thing coming!" He said before he went over to one of his flying demon-looking monkeys, which looked like Hun with the blonde hair and large muscles, was sitting on the window sill and gave him an order.

"Head towards the haunted forest and prepare to ambush those freaks, but capture and bring Michelangelo to me alive and unharmed and do what you wish with the others, understood!?"

The creature grunted in understanding before he jumped off the window sill and began to fly off towards the haunted forest with the other following him.

"Yes…fly…fly, my minions! Take down those freaks and capture Michelangelo alive, Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" The Warlord shouted as he watched his minions fly off towards the darkness of the haunted forest ahead of them.


	13. Chapter 13-The Mission begins

Chapter 13-The Mission begins

The turtles entered the Haunted Forest after walking down the path towards it as pointed out by the map for half an hour.

As soon as they stopped for a moment to catch their breath, Mikey was the first to take a look around the forest, which was filled with black trees that were bare with no flowers or leaves and ravens were perched on the branches and were watching the group with scary red eyes.

"Oh, man…why does the Warlord's place have to be near somewhere creepy and scary…?" Mikey said nervously.

"Hmmm…Oh, I don't know… maybe cos he's a _bad guy_, Mikey…?" Raph replied sarcastically with a slight glare towards Mikey who glared back at him.

"Calm down, you two…I know we're a bit tense right now but we will get through this and finish the mission together, ok?" Donnie said calmly to try and diffuse the tension in the group, which had worked when he watched Mikey and Raph apologise to each other and shook hands.

As they were about to continue on with their trek to the Warlord Shredder's castle, the turtles heard a screeching noise coming from the sky so they looked up and their eyes widened in surprise and horror from what they saw; a large group of flying demonic flying monkeys in the dark sky, which were being led by the Hun look-alike who roared and charged towards the turtles, with the others following his lead.

"What the Shell are those things!?" Mikey yelled out as he held Klunk close when he jumped into his master's arms in fright.

"It's _them_…the flying monkeys, and they're the Warlord Shredder's minions!" Leo answered with a growl.

"You mean the ones who destroyed your village two weeks ago? Those things!?" Donnie asked in fear and realisation when he heard what Leo just said.

"Yes…" Leo replied as he looked at the demonic monkeys with a serious but slightly feared look on his face.

"Well, I'll bet they're here fa Mikey and da Medallion under dat tin head's command! Mikey, stay close ta us, we'll protect ya…ok?" Raph said before he looked over at Mikey with a determined look on his face.

"O-Ok…" Mikey replied in surprise before he and the others prepared their weapons as the flying monkeys landed on the ground and charged towards them.

Raph was the first to start attacking the creatures by blocking their attacks, which involved slashing with their sharp claws and biting with their fangs and countering back with his sharp new sais, resulting in taking down a few of them.

Donnie and Leo, after a bit of encouragement, followed suit and attacked the ones that were heading in their direction; Donnie spun his bo staff as he got closer to the creatures and they were sent flying on contact, whilst Leo was more focused on blocking and slashing them down straight away than avoiding their attacks due to his deep hatred towards them and the Warlord Shredder.

The battle was going well for the turtles as they were all working together to take their enemies down one-by-one, but what they didn't know was that the Hun look-alike was just sitting on one of the thick branches of a dark tree, watching Mikey with his dark eyes whilst secretly plotting something that would help him take advantage of the Medallion's power during the fight.

The battle was going well for the turtles as they were all working together to take their enemies down one-by-one, but what they didn't know was that the Hun look-alike was just sitting on one of the thick branches of a dark tree, watching Mikey with his dark eyes whilst secretly plotting something that would help him take advantage of the Medallion's power.

It was a moment later that it came to him; he howled out to his fellow monkeys and he signalled them to fly around him whilst he spun and flapped his wings to create a black mass of energy. The turtles noticed this and looked on in shock and horror as the flying monkeys swirled around their leader and created a huge, powerful tornado.

"Oh, no…run!" Leo commanded loudly and he and his brothers ran to try to get away from the deadly tornado, but the flying monkeys were smarter than that and they chased after them at full speed ahead.

Soon, the dark tornado caught up with the turtles and they were sucked in like a vacuum. Inside the tornado, the turtles were terrified and tried desperately to break free from within it, but to no avail, and were instead being attacked by the flying monkeys from the inside of the tornado.

Mikey watched on in horror as his brothers were being scratched, bit and beaten up by these demonic creatures right in front of him. It was then that he reached deep within his heart and released his strong desire to protect the ones he cared about, resulting in the activation of the Medallion once again.

"Leave…my brothers…ALONE!" He shouted before his body and eyes glowed brightly and a force field of light began to develop and expand until it was big enough to cause the flying monkeys to spread out and separate from their leader and each other whilst protecting his brothers and Klunk in the process.

After a moment, the flying monkeys and Hun got up from where they had landed and watched on as the force field slowly started to fade and the glowing body of Mikey descended to the ground with his brothers and Klunk before the glow faded and Mikey collapsed.

"Mikey!" The older turtles shouted out to their unconscious baby brother in a worried and panicked tone, but just as they were about to go and check on him, Hun screamed out as he pointed at Mikey and his fellow monkeys charged over to him and grabbed him in a flash before they and Hun took flight with Mikey and Klunk, who was in the basket hanging around his master's arm, in their possession.

"NO!" "Give them back!" "Get back here!" The older brothers called out but it was no use; the flying monkeys just ignored them deliberately and carried on flying towards the Warlord Shredder's castle.

With battered and bruised bodies, the turtles looked on before Leo collapsed onto his knees and roared in frustration and sorrow when he realised that he failed to protect Mikey, just like how he failed to protect his village from the Warlord Shredder.

"Fa cryin' out loud, Leo, let da whole forest hear ya, why don't ya!?" Raph said in annoyance whilst he covered his ears due to how loud Leo's roar was.

Leo turned his head towards Raph to show him his angry but tearful face, causing Raph's annoyed look to soften before he spoke as he sobbed.

"I-I…I couldn't protect him…I-I promised him but I…let him down…" By now, Leo closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. Donnie immediately engulfed him in a hug before he spoke.

"Shhh…no, Leo; you haven't let him down…we're in this together, remember…?"

"Don has a point, Leo; we all promised Mikey dat we would protect him and help him get back home. None of us knew dat dis would happen, so there's no need fa any of us ta get upset cos it won't get us very far, ya know…" Raph said in agreement before he placed a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder and continued speaking. "Besides, if ya friend Usagi is seeing ya like dis, he would surely laugh at ya or become disappointed in ya…"

Leo looked up at his brothers after Donnie released him from the hug, and his face then changed from sad to determination after hearing Donnie and Raph's words and letting them sink into his mind. He then stood up and wiped away the tears from his eyes and face before he spoke.

"You're right, bros; we made a promise to help and protect Mikey since he has already done so much for us. Also, I know that Usagi is watching and witnessing my pitiful outburst right now, so in order for me to redeem myself and save Mikey, we all need to keep moving forward and complete this mission. Are you all with me?"

"Of course!" "Always!" Donnie and Raph answered with proud smiles, causing Leo to smile back at them and say, "Thanks, guys...".

"Alright! Let's go ta da Shred Head's castle, beat him up and save Mikey and Klunk!" Raph then said confidently.

"Right!" Leo and Donnie said as they nodded in agreement with Raph before they began their walk towards the Warlord Shredder's castle.

'Usagi, please watch over us…and Mikey, Klunk, hang in there; we're coming for you!' Leo prayed in his mind whilst he walked next to his brothers who both wrapped an arm around his shoulders for support, since they all knew that whatever was coming their way when they get to the castle will be more challenging than their fight with the flying monkeys.


	14. Chapter 14-The Warlord's Vendetta

Chapter 14-The Warlord's Vendetta

The first thing Mikey felt when he slowly regained consciousness was a slight dizzy sensation in his head.

He opened his eyes slightly at first since opening them too quickly might make his dizziness worse, before he began to hear muffled voices around him.

'What happened? Where am I?' Mikey thought to himself before his vision and hearing became clearer and he looked up to see where he was. It was then that he noticed that there was a purple-coloured force field that was completely surrounding him with no way out, but he was able to see that he was in a gothic-themed room with two flying monkeys standing guard at a doorway.

A moment later, the Warlord Shredder appeared through that very same doorway and he was carrying a struggling Klunk by the scruff of his neck, causing Mikey to look on in horror with wide eyes and he was about to punch the force field when he heard the Warlord speak in a dark tone.

"Ah, Michelangelo…Awake at last…I wouldn't try anything to break through my force field if I were you, or your little furry friend will be brought to harm!"

"Meow!" Klunk cried out as the Warlord shredder gripped harder on his fur and skin.

"No, please! I'll do anything, just please don't hurt him!" Mikey yelled out pleadingly towards the Warlord, who lowered Klunk onto his other hand whilst still gripping him on the scruff of his neck with his other hand as he spoke.

"Anything, you say? Then hand over the Medallion of Light to me, and I'll think about letting you and your furry feline go!"

Mikey knew what the Warlord was really up to since every time he tried to get the Medallion from him, he would try and kill him and his brothers without honour or emotions in order to take it. With this in mind, Mikey just looked at the Warlord with a brave face and spoke with determination.

"No way, Shredder…! I know that you'll just kill me and Klunk as soon as I give you the Medallion of Light, so forget it!"

This caused the Warlord to become enraged. He then walked over to one of the flying monkeys and handed Klunk over to him before he turned to look at Mikey again with red angry eyes as he spoke.

"Impudent freak…you killed my daughter, so I will send my minion to throw your feline into the river near here and drown him to return the favour!"

"NO, WAIT!" Mikey shouted out just as the flying monkey was about to fly off with Klunk in his clutches and perform his given task before he took a deep breath and spoke in a slightly calmer tone.

"Alright, Shredder, I'll make you a deal; if I give you the Medallion of Light, you will promise me that you won't harm my brothers and my cat afterwards…and you can do whatever you want with me, instead…"

The Warlord Shredder placed a hand under his chin in thought after he heard his deal, and he turned his head slightly to look at Klunk, who was eyeing him angrily before he looked at Mikey again and spoke his answer.

"Hmmm…Very well, I accept your deal…as long as you keep your end of the deal, I will not harm your loved ones…"

With that in mind, the Warlord approached the force field and created an opening through it before he slowly reached his hand inside and towards the Medallion around Mikey's neck.

As his hand got a few inches closer to it, however, the Medallion flashed and shocking sparks zapped the Warlord's hand, causing him to withdraw his hand back in pain.

"AARRGH!" He yelled out in agony before he looked at his sizzled hand and then looked at Mikey with raging eyes. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"Whoa, I-I didn't do anything, I swear! Please, can you let Klunk go now?" Mikey pleaded with his hands in the air to show that he didn't make the Medallion attack the Warlord.

"No! I completely forgot that the Medallion of Light will not part with its wielder unless something unfortunate happens to them…" The Warlord answered angrily before he looked away to think of another way to get the Medallion from Mikey.

Whilst both the Warlord and the flying monkey were distracted, Klunk was able to escape out of the creature's hold and began to run, causing the flying monkey to screech in distress in order to alert his master.

"Klunk, run! Find the others, hurry!" Mikey told his little furry friend before he watched as Klunk ran out of the room at full speed.

"What!? Stop him, he must not escape!" The Warlord shouted as he pointed at the open doorway, but it was too late as Klunk was able to escape the castle altogether by jumping off the drawbridge that was starting to rise back up towards the exit.

"Yes…! He got away…thank shell…!" Mikey said in relief as soon as he saw a glimpse of his furry friend running towards the dark forest where his brothers were last seen.

"Grr, let the feline go; he is not our main priority right now!" The Warlord said in frustration before he focused his attention back to Mikey, who suddenly began to feel nervous when he saw his evil eyes look at him as he spoke.

"Now, it seems that the only way for me to get the Medallion of Light from you is to end your life…but the question is, how to do it? After all, These things have to be done delicately…"

The Warlord began to look around his room before he spotted an empty hourglass sitting on a table before he walked over and retrieved it, and then he approached Mikey to show it to him.

"Do you see this hourglass, Michelangelo!?" The Warlord asked Mikey evilly before he hovered a hand over the force field and transferred some of its energy into the bottom part of the hourglass and continued speaking. "This shows how long you have left to be alive, which will not be very long, freak! Once your time is up, I will finally have the Medallion of Light in my clutches! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"No…" Mikey whispered in shock and horror before he felt an intense pain course through his body, which he realised was caused by the force field's power in response to the amount of time he had left in the hourglass. Then, he watched as the Warlord left the room whilst still laughing evilly, with the two flying monkeys following him from behind.

Now all alone, Mikey began to develop tears in his eyes as a mixture of emotions such as fear and sorrow flowed through his heart and mind, before he let it all out through sobs. He wasn't prepared for this. He didn't know that he had to die in order to separate the Medallion from him, but he really didn't want that to happen since the Warlord Shredder would be the one to take it from his lifeless body. Also, he didn't want to fail everyone including his brothers because he made a promise to help them get their wishes granted, but now, he feared that he might not be able to keep that promise since he had no idea where the castle's location is and how far away it was from his brothers, so all he could do right now was pray and hope that they would come for him in time before the hourglass finishes.

"B-Bros…Klunk…please, hurry…I-I'm so scared…I just…want to go home…" He said tearfully before he curled himself up into a ball and continued to cry, alone and in a dark room inside his enemy's castle.


	15. Chapter 15-Finding the Warlord's Castle

Chapter 15-Finding the Warlord's Castle

The three turtles have been walking towards the same direction where the flying monkeys took Mikey and Klunk for the past 15 minutes before a small but loud cry stopped them in their tracks.

_"Meow!"_

"What was dat…?" Raph said as he looked at his brothers with a raised eyebrow.

"It sounded like…" Donnie said in thought as he and the others looked towards where the sound was coming from.

"Meow! Meow!" The cry got louder before a small orange-coloured ball of fluff sped towards the group.

"Klunk!" Leo answered after he recognised the little cat first and picked him up straight away as he came over to him, resulting in Klunk rubbing his body on Leo's chest affectionately. "You're ok…" He said with a sigh of relief.

"Where did he come from?" Raph questioned whilst he developed a small but relieved smile after seeing Klunk unharmed and back with them.

"He must have escaped from the Warlord's castle!" Donnie theorised with wide eyes as he stroked Klunk's head.

"Then dat means Mikey is in there with Da Warlord! We gotta save him!" Raph pointed out firmly.

"Right! Klunk, can you take us to the Warlord's castle, please?" Leo asked the little orange cat, who answered him with a meow and instantly jumped off of Leo's hand and began to run in the same direction from where he came from.

"Let's go!" Leo commanded before he, Raph and Donnie followed Klunk as he led them to where the Warlord's castle is located.

Suddenly, a large black spider with white stripes on its body jumped out in front of the group from the darkness as they ran for the past 2 minutes, and it looked at them with red eyes and fangs dripping with venom.

"What da shell is dat!?" Raph shouted out in surprise as he grabbed his sais out of his belt and readied them for battle.

"It's a zebra widow spider! Don't let it bite you or its poison will slowly kill you if an antidote isn't given immediately after being bit!" Leo answered firmly but nervously as he readied his katana swords.

"R-Right!" Donnie said shakily as he hid Klunk in a bush to keep him safe and then readied his bo staff.

Then, the spider pounced towards the turtles who dodged it in different directions and Raph was the first to charge at it and stabbed it on the side with one of his sais. The large creature shrieked in pain and swung its large legs around, knocking out Raph and sending him flying towards a tree in the process. Luckily, Leo managed to catch Raph before his body could slam against the tree.

"Donnie, take care of Raph! I'll deal with the spider!" Leo shouted out towards the purple-banded scarecrow, who nodded and immediately headed towards the unconscious Raph who was placed behind a large bush by Leo to keep him safe.

Leo then readied his katana as the spider faced him and charged at him whilst being blinded by rage, but Leo slid underneath it whilst using one of his katana swords to slash its underbelly before reaching the end and standing back up. The spider shrieked in pain again before it swiftly charged at Leo once more, where this time Leo didn't dodge it quick enough and was bitten on his arm by one of the spider's venomous fangs.

"Aarrgh!" Leo cried out in pain before he collapsed onto his knees and covered his wounded arm with his hand.

"Leo!" Donnie yelled out in fear of his brother's health and safety before he noticed Raph was slowly opening his eyes and regaining consciousness.

"Urgh…Wha' happened?" Raph slurred out as his mind and vision began to clear up.

"Raph! I'm glad you're awake, bro…Leo's in trouble and we need to help him quickly before it's too late!" Donnie said in relief before he started to panic slightly and turned to look at a wounded and now poisoned Leo as he said the last sentence.

Raph looked over at where Donnie was looking at with wide eyes as he saw Leo who had a purple hue under his eyes and was panting heavily due to the venom in his veins, and he was trying to keep himself awake whilst the giant spider slowly approached him as it prepared another attack on him.

"Oh, no…Donnie, can ya fix up an antidote fa Leo with da medicine dat Leatherhead gave us?" Raph said with a serious look on his face.

"Y-Yeah, but I'll need you to keep the spider busy whilst I'm preparing it so I can get it done faster, ok?" Donnie answered as he started to gather the bottle with green herbs in and his water canister out of his bag before he grabbed a few sticks to make a small fire to warm some water up.

"Got it!" Raph replied before he ran towards the spider, which was starting to weaken from its heavily bleeding wound on its underbelly, before he tackled it hard on the side, causing it to fly backwards and slam hard onto a large tree.

The spider slowly got up a moment after the impact and looked over at Raph as it growled angrily before its vision began to grow hazy and its legs buckled, causing it to collapse due to weakness from the blood loss. Then, the spider's eyes slowly closed and its breathing stilled after its final exhale, meaning that the spider's life had ended.

Raph took a moment to catch his breath and slow his adrenaline down before he turned and quickly ran towards a sickly Leo, who was shivering despite feeling warm whilst leaning on a tall tree and breathing heavily, and knelt to his level and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before he spoke.

"Hang in there, Leo…Donnie's makin' ya an antidote right now…"

Leo opened his eyes slightly and looked at the red-banded tin turtle, despite having blurry vision, before he nodded weakly and closed his eyes again.

"It's finished!" Donnie called out before he stood up and quickly walked towards Leo and Raph with the antidote, which was placed in a small bowl that Donnie had from his bag, in his hand and knelt down to Leo's level to give it to him.

"Hurry, Donnie! You give him da antidote whilst I treat his bite wound!" Raph replied as he dug through his bag to get his water canister and a bandage roll and began the process of cleaning and bandaging Leo's wounded arm.

"Here, Leo, Drink this…It'll get rid of the poison…" Donnie said firmly but softly to the blue-banded turtle as he placed the bowl close to his lips before he watched as Leo opened his mouth and began to drink the antidote slowly since the taste was very bitter.

"How long will it take fa it ta work, Donnie?" Raph said in a worried tone as he watched Leo finish drinking the antidote.

"The antidote should take effect a minute after consumption," Donnie answered before he looked at Leo's now bandaged arm. "How's his arm?"

"I've cleaned it out and bandaged it up as best I could, but I don't think da wound was too deep fa us ta worry about. It'll have ta do until we finish da mission…" Raph answered as he turned to look at Donnie before he watched as Klunk, who got out of the bush after sensing that it was now safe to come out, approached Leo and gently rubbed himself against his plastron to comfort the blue-banded turtle.

After a minute had passed, Leo began to stir and slowly opened his eyes not long after his symptoms reduced to almost normal before he looked up to see his brothers looking at him with relieved looks on their faces.

"Guys…?" Leo rasped due to feeling a bit tired still from the poison's effects.

"Leo!" Donnie shouted before he went over to him and gave him a hug, which Leo returned greatly.

"Man, Leo…ya had us worried back there…" Raph said in relief before he placed a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Sorry…Thank you for saving me…I thought that you were going to leave me behind and save Mikey without me…" Leo said with a sad smile as he released the hug with Donnie before he petted Klunk to reassure him that he was fine.

"Your welcome, Leo…We're friends and brothers, so it's natural to help each other when one of us is down…!" Donnie said with a sunnier smile.

"Yeah, and no-one gets left behind. Besides, Mikey would get upset and blame himself if he found out dat you died whilst tryin' ta save him…" Raph said firmly in agreement before he lent Leo a hand to help him stand back up with Donnie helping him out too.

"Thanks…now, let get going; Mikey is waiting for us to save him!" Leo said firmly with a determined look on his face with his brothers nodding in agreement before they followed Klunk as he ran in the direction to where the Warlord's castle was located once again.

10 minutes later…

Klunk stopped running as he reached a rocky hill and the group caught up to him before their eyes widened when they saw what was in front of them; a dark gigantic castle could be seen a mile away and it looked as if it was carved out of a mountain due to the pointy sides on the castle walls.

"So, that's the Warlord Shredder's castle…" Leo said after a moment of silence.

"Looks like it, and it seems to fit the description about the abandoned castle that the Great Wizard told us about since it is many miles away from the rest of the land of Oz…" Donnie said in thought with a hand under his chin.

"Alright, then let's get in closer and see what's goin' on at da front," suggested Raph.

The others nodded in agreement before they all moved closer to where the front entrance was. When they arrived there, they spotted an army of soldiers wearing tall furry hats and a uniform that feature an emblem resembling the Foot clan's outside the now lowered drawbridge, so they all crouched to a lower level behind a large rock to avoid being detected.

"Great, how do we get in there with those goons at da door!?" Raph said in frustration and in desperation due to wanting to rescue Mikey quickly.

"Calm down and keep quiet, Raph…! We all want to rescue Mikey, but we need to choose our actions carefully to avoid drawing attention to ourselves!" Leo whispered firmly to the tin turtle.

Donnie, on the other hand, was observing the scene closely to see if he could find something that would help them to enter the castle undetected. Soon, he spotted three soldiers alone and talking to each other nearby, and it was then that an idea popped into his straw-filled head.

"Guys, I think I've found a way to get inside without getting caught," he said quietly as he turned to look at his brothers with a determined look on his face.

Leo and Raph looked at each other before they looked at Donnie as Leo spoke first.

"Ok, Don, what's your plan?"

"There are three soldiers standing close to where we are now, so if we sneak up on them from behind and knock them out, we can use their clothes to disguise ourselves and sneak into the castle without being detected," Donnie explained as he pointed at the three soldiers who were still chatting away to one another.

Leo and Raph looked at Donnie with stunned looks on their faces and wide eyes after what they just heard, before they smiled and Leo spoke first.

"Good plan, Donnie!"

"Yeah, fa a scarecrow with no brain, ya really outdone yourself, bro!" Raph said in agreement as he placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder, causing him to smile with glee.

With their plan set, the three turtle brothers slowly and quietly sneaked up behind the three soldiers and as soon as they were at a suitable distance, they grabbed the soldiers and covered their mouths at the same time to keep them quiet before they were knocked out by getting hit on the head.

Once they knew that they were unconscious, the turtle brothers removed the soldiers' clothes and put them on to disguise themselves in order to enter the castle without being seen.

"Ok, guys; we jump in to join the last group of soldiers as soon as they start to walk towards the castle entrance…are you ready?" Leo said as he looked at Raph and Donnie with a determined look on his face. The two younger turtles nodded before they saw the last group of soldiers about to walk into the castle entrance.

"Let's go, now!" Leo said firmly but quietly before he, Raph and Donnie jumped out from their hiding place and caught up with the soldiers as they made their move towards the castle entrance.

Once they were inside, the drawbridge was raised which meant that there was no turning back for the turtles to save Mikey and stop the Warlord Shredder once and for all.


	16. Chapter 16-We're coming, Mikey!

Chapter 16-We're coming, Mikey!

The three turtle brothers and Klunk were able to get inside the castle without exposing themselves to the enemy, and it wasn't until the soldiers came towards a room with many doorways that the turtles decided to stop and separate themselves from them.

"Ok, we're inside the Warlord's castle now, so let's be careful and keep our guard up whilst we look for Mikey," Leo said quietly to avoid alerting any nearby soldiers or other enemies that may be lurking around.

Klunk, who was sat on Donnie's hand, jumped off and ran towards the stairway before he turned around and meowed at the group as if to say that they should go up the stairs.

"What is it, Klunk?" Leo asked the little cat curiously.

"I think he's pointing us in the direction where Mikey is being held as a prisoner!" Donnie pointed out with wide eyes.

"Well, what are we standin' around here for? Let's-"

_"Aarrgh!"_

Raph was cut off by a loud but distance and pained scream that sounded strongly familiar to the group, who realised with shocked wide eyes on who they thought it was.

"That's Mikey!" Leo said.

"Yeah, and he sounds like he's in pain!" Donnie said as he trembled in the thought of his little brother being hurt terribly by the Warlord.

"Come on, let's hurry and save him!" Raph said firmly before he followed Klunk up the stairs, with Leo and Donnie following them from behind.

"Hang on, Mikey! We're coming for you!" Leo called out with determination as he ran upstairs.

_/_

_Earlier, In the Warlord's room…_

"Aarrgh!"

Mikey screamed as he was zapped painfully by the force field again and his body was starting to show signs of weakening due to the hourglass being half full. He gasped for breath after the shock and he clutched onto the Medallion of Light as more tears began to develop in his eyes.

"G-Guys…Where…a-are you…? I-It hurts…please…hurry…!" He said breathlessly as he looked up weakly at the closed door to see if there were any signs of his brothers coming, but there was still nobody there. He then closed his eyes and curled his battered body up again with a sad sigh.

_'Stay…strong…'_

Mikey gasped and uncurled himself slightly when he heard a faint but clear voice speak to him out of nowhere, and he looked around to see no-one in the same room as him.

"H-Hello…? W-Who's there…?" Mikey called out nervously before he noticed that the Medallion of Light was glowing softly in his hand. When he looked at it for a moment, a realization came to him and spoke with slightly wide eyes.

"C-Celestia…!? Is that…you!?"

_'Young one…stay…strong…your friends…are…coming…'_

The feminine voice spoke again but it was slightly louder than before, meaning that she had responded to Mikey's voice.

"Really? How-"

_"Hang on, Mikey! We're coming for you!"_

Mikey then gasped again when he heard a familiar voice coming from outside of the room and he recognised it straight away; it was Leo's.

"Leo…! T-Then that means…You're right, Celestia…My bros…are here…" Mikey said tiredly before his face changed from unsure and confused to determined in an instant as he gathered as much strength as he could and shouted out with all his might.

"Bros, HELP! Aarrgh!"

Shortly after shouting for help, the force field shocked him again but it was a much stronger attack since the dark sand in the hourglass was nearly completely full at the bottom.

_/_

_Outside the room…_

_"Bros, HELP! Aarrgh!"_

The three turtle brothers stopped running for a second as they heard Mikey's voice echo from a room not far from them, and Klunk immediately ran towards the door that led to the same room where he ran out of during his escape.

"Over there!" Raph pointed out before the group quickly headed towards the door, where Klunk was meowing and scratching at it in desperation to get to his master.

"Mikey!" The turtle brothers shouted at the same time as they banged on the door, which they found out to be locked.

"B-Bros…Hurry…H-Hurts…Aarrgh!" They heard Mikey who to them sounded very weak before he yelled out in pain.

"Grr…Stand back!" Raph said with a growl before he got out his large axe and began to attack the door. After hitting it five times, the door became weak enough for the brothers to charge and slam it down to the ground. When they came to their senses and looked up, their faces paled and their eyes widened at the state of Mikey inside the force field.

"Mikey! Oh, no…!" Leo was the first to speak as he moved closer to the force field to try and break it with his katana, but it was too strong and it only caused the katana to bounce back slightly on impact.

"We gotta get him outta there!" Raph said angrily as he looked at Mikey who had barely noticed his brothers' presence until he weakly looked up and smiled.

"B-Bros…T-The…h-hourglass…" Mikey pointed out weakly as he lifted his finger to point his brothers towards the hourglass, which was almost out of time.

"Of course! The Warlord has cast a spell on the hourglass to end Mikey's life by synchronising the hourglass with the force field! So, if we destroy it…" Donnie theorised before Raph ran over to the hourglass and lifted it off the table.

"Stand clear, guys!" He said to warn his brothers and Klunk before he threw the hourglass hard onto the ground, which caused it to smash into pieces and the dark sand inside to fade away. Then, the force field began to dissolve before it disappeared completely, causing Mikey to lay on the ground with no signs of moving.

"Mikey!" Leo shouted worryingly as he ran towards Mikey, whose eyes were closed and breathing was shallow and gathered him into his arms. "Please, talk to me…Mikey!"

"Bro!?" Raph said with a stunned look on his face when he got closer to Mikey.

"You ok, little bro!?" Donnie said anxiously as he checked him over and placed a hand on Mikey's forehead, whilst Klunk meowed and rubbed himself against his master's battered body.

A moment later, Mikey began to stir in Leo's arms and his eyes slowly started to open, and then his vision began to clear up as they opened completely before he smiled at the sight of his brothers.

"B-Bros…Klunk…" He said weakly with tears developing in his eyes.

"Oh, Mikey…!" Leo said in relief before he gave Mikey a gentle hug.

"Thank goodness you're still with us, Mikey…" Donnie said as he held Mikey's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before watching Klunk jump onto his master's plastron and meow in relief.

"Y-You're…really here…" Mikey then said as his tears fell and petted Klunk.

"Of course we're here, bro…!" Raph said as he knelt down to Mikey's level and gently patted him on his knee.

"We would never leave you behind or let the Warlord Shredder hurt you!" Leo said firmly but softly to his brother.

"That's right! You've been there for us so many times before, so we're here to be there for you this time…" Donnie said as he wiped the tears from Mikey's eyes.

Mikey just laid in Leo's arms with wide eyes when he heard what his brothers said to him before his eyes softened and a smile developed on his face. Then, a thought came to him that made him feel a bit scared.

"S-Shredder…he's going to…what if he comes and-"

"Don't worry, Mikey; we'll make sure that he doesn't lay a finger on you again!" Leo said firmly but softly with determination before he and Donnie helped Mikey stand up.

"Ngh…" Mikey grunted due to his body being sore and achy before Raph walked over to him and swapped places with Leo.

"We've got ya, bro…" Raph said as he wrapped Mikey's arm around his shoulders and placed his own arm behind Mikey's back with Donnie doing the same on the opposite side.

Whilst this was going on, Leo stood halfway through the doorway to keep an eye out for the Warlord Shredder or any other enemies that dwell within the castle.

"Leo, we're ready to go," Donnie said as he held Mikey securely to help keep him up on his feet since he was too weak to stand on his own. Leo turned around and nodded before he spoke.

"Ok…the coast is clear so far, so let's get moving!" Leo said as he signalled the others to follow him as he left the room.


	17. Chapter 17-A Battle with the Warlord

Chapter 17-A Battle with the Warlord

The turtle brothers and Klunk slowly and cautiously walked down the stairs whilst keeping an eye out for enemies and keeping Mikey upright at the same time. Luckily, Mikey was starting to regain his strength bit-by-bit since the spell from the hourglass was broken, though his body was still sore and achy from the spell's attack.

Suddenly, a flying monkey appeared in one of the castle's top windows and it screeched and pointed at the group as soon as it spotted them.

"Oh, shell…We've been spotted!" Donnie said with fear in his eyes.

"Shut up, ya freak!" Raph yelled out at the creature before he let go of Mikey for a moment to throw a shuriken towards it, which hit it in the head and caused it to fall out of the window.

However, it was already too late as the group heard the sounds of running feet and shouting from the corridors behind and in front of them.

"Not good! We'll be surrounded if we don't move!" Donnie pointed out in a panic.

"Quick, down the stairs!" Leo commanded before he and the others made a run for it down the stairs and made their way to the center of the castle. They then decided to run through a corridor that led to the large balcony outside, but once they got there they were surrounded by flying monkeys and soldiers on all sides.

With nowhere else to go, the group stood and leaned close to a wall and watched nervously as the flying monkeys and soldiers gathered around them and made sure that there was nowhere to run. It was then that a shroud of black smoke appeared in front of the turtles and the Warlord Shredder revealed himself with a dark look on his face.

"So, the young freak still lives…no thanks to his freak show friends who managed to sneak into my castle uninvited!" He said angrily with eyes glowing red with rage.

Raph narrowed his eyes and growled when he heard what the Warlord said before he stood in front of his brothers and spoke.

"Listen, Shred head; you mess with my bros, you mess with me!"

"That goes for me too! I will not allow you to harm any more innocent lives for your selfish desires, Shredder!" Leo said in agreement with determination as he too stepped forward and stood next to Raph.

"Yeah, and we won't let you hurt our little brother again!" Donnie said firmly and bravely, with Mikey smiling tiredly but proudly at his brothers' words.

"Ah, ha ha ha ha…pathetic! Do you really think that you can stop me from succeeding in my plans!?" The Warlord Shredder said coldly.

"We will stop you, Shredder! Or should I say…Oroku Saki and Ragnerus!?" Leo pointed out, surprising the Warlord.

"So, you know the truth of who I really am…But it matters not, for I will still destroy you all and retrieve the Medallion of Light by battling you until you fall!" The Warlord said before he unsheathed his weapon and charged at the turtles who were preparing themselves for their biggest battle yet.

"Bring it on!" "Let's end this, Shredder!" Leo and Raph shouted out before they, Donnie and Mikey charged towards the Warlord with their weapons in hand. The soldiers and flying monkeys were about to charge towards the turtles but they stopped when they saw that the Warlord had raised his arms in the air, which was a signal to tell them not to move.

"NO! This battle is between them and me alone!" His voice boomed out before he produced a big fireball and threw it towards the charging turtles.

"Scatter!" Leo shouted out after he saw the fireball coming towards him and his brothers before he, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey moved apart and successfully dodged the attack. The turtles then resumed their charge attack towards the Warlord.

Leo was the first to reach the Warlord Shredder and he clashed one of his katana swords with the Warlord's claw before using his other katana to stab the Warlord in the shoulder, causing the dark villain to roar in pain. Leo then quickly pulled his katana out just in time to dodge as the Warlord attempted to slash him with his claw.

Raph appeared in front of the Warlord Shredder as soon as Leo moved away from his attack, and began to strike at the dark villain with his sais. Even with an injured shoulder, the Warlord successfully blocked Raph's attacks and he kicked him hard in the stomach which sent Raph flying and hitting a wall in the process, leaving him dazed for a moment.

After seeing this, Donnie readied his bo staff and charged towards the Warlord Shredder with anger showing on his face. He whacked the Warlord hard in the face, causing him to stumble a couple of steps backward before he shook his aching head and produced a fireball in his hand which he aimed and then threw at the turtle scarecrow. Donnie saw this with wide eyes and quickly moved out of the fireball's range before watching as the fireball struck one of the soldiers instead, causing the Warlord Shredder to growl in anger and frustration before he decided to combine his fire magic with his bladed gauntlet to make a flaming claw and then charged towards Donnie.

Mikey noticed with wide eyes that Raph was down in a daze so he rushed over to him to check him over. Luckily, Raph was still conscious though his face was showing that he was feeling a bit dizzy so Mikey helped him to sit up and lean him against the wall to let him get his bearings. He then turned around just in time to see the Warlord Shredder about to attack Donnie with his flame claw, causing him to gasp in horror before he ran with whatever amount of energy he had in his aching body towards the two with his nun-chucks in both hands.

"Don't even think about it, Shredder!" Mikey shouted out before he got in front of the Warlord and used his nun-chucks to block the attack. However, the flames on the claw had caught and burned one of Mikey's arms, creating long scratch-like marks on his skin. Mikey hissed at the burning pain that was shooting up his arm but he quickly endured it and kicked the Warlord hard in the stomach before he backed away and punched him in the face, causing the dark villain to fall sideways and land hard on the ground.

"Alright!" "Way to go, Mikey!" Leo and Donnie cheered whilst Raph smirked with a chuckle after they all watched Mikey punch the Warlord in the face and sent him flying.

However, the celebration was short-lived as the Warlord Shredder began to glow an ominous purple aura which flashed in a pulse-like rhythm before he looked at Mikey with glowing red eyes and spoke in a voice that was faintly his own.

"You…You can try with all of your might, but you and your pathetic friends will never defeat me! Now, you will see for the very first and last time the reason why!"

Suddenly, the Warlord erupted in a blast of energy before he rose up into the dark sky and began to change his human form into a huge dragon-like demon, which everyone recognised as the fusion that was created by Oroku Saki and Ragnerus many years ago!

"Oh, no…" Leo said fearfully when he first saw the completely transformed demon in the sky.

"This is bad…" Donnie then said in shock and horror as he and the older turtles gathered to where Mikey, who was holding his arm in pain due to the burns on it, was standing.

"What da shell do we do now!? Da Warlord Shredder is up there lookin' as ugly as ever and we're down here with weapons dat can hardly reach him!" Raph said in frustration and slight panic when he saw how high the transformed Warlord was in the sky.

Mikey was struggling to think on what he and his brothers should do next, not only due to the pain he was in from his injuries but also due to the fact that he was a little scared and unsure on how he and his brothers can stop the Warlord in the air. Suddenly;

'_Young…ones…_'

A soft feminine voice was heard as it echoed in the atmosphere around the turtles, who were looking around to figure out where the voice was coming from after being startled by it, all accept Mikey who instantly looked at the Medallion of light, which was glowing softly, as soon as he heard the voice before he spoke.

"Celestia!?"


	18. Chapter 18-Celestia's Light Unleashed

Chapter 18-Celestia's Light Unleashed

The three older turtles turned to look at Mikey with questioning looks on their faces when he said the light dragon's name before they gathered around him when they noticed that the Medallion was glowing softly but brightly in his hands.

"Mikey...is that…?" Leo said in awe.

"Celestia's voice?" Donnie said finishing Leo's question.

Mikey said nothing but instead nodded to Donnie's words before he and the others heard the mystical voice speak again.

_'My young warriors…I can sense…that evil being's power…it has grown even stronger than… I had last sensed it…"_

"Celestia, tell us; what do we do now? We can't land a hit on the Warlord Shredder from where we're standing!" Mikey said desperately.

"Yeah, he's too high in da sky fa us ta reach him with da weapons dat we have on us!" Raph said firmly at the Medallion with Leo and Donnie nodding and humming in agreement.

'_Calm your spirits, young ones…I already witnessed the events…from your earlier fight with him…but do not fret…I will help you in defeating him by lending you my strength…through Michelangelo…' _Celestia said seriously but calmly to the four turtles whose eyes went wide, especially Mikey's when she said the last part.

"W-Wait, what!? Through me!? What do you mean?" Mikey said whilst in a shocked and confused state.

_'The light within your heart and soul…is as equally strong and powerful as mine…which means that we can…combine them together… through your own free will… and the use of a spell… that I was never able to use…during my last battle with the dark demon before us… however, there is a risk that…you may not survive after the battle has ended… so, the choice is yours… follow your heart and make your decision, young one…" _Celestia explained.

The turtles looked at each other before the three older turtles looked at Mikey who was starting to look unsure and scared at the same time, so Leo spoke up first with a serious but caring tone.

"Mikey, it's up to you on how you want to go about this, but just remember that whatever decision you make, I will respect it and support you through every step of the way…"

"You can count on me too, Mikey, no matter what you choose to do!" Donnie said next as he placed a supportive hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"I'll admit dat I'm a lil' uneasy about ya usin' da Medallion's power again, Mike, but I know dat you'll be fine cos ya strong and we'll be there ta make sure dat ya come out of dis alive!" Raph then said firmly but with determination whilst wrapping an arm around Mikey's side to give him a sideways hug to help him ease his uneasy feelings building up inside him.

Mikey looked from Leo to Donnie and then to Raph with wide eyes after hearing their words of support before he smiled with tears developing in his eyes as he spoke. "Thanks, bros…I-I don't know what I'd do without you here with me…" He then raised his arms to signal his older brothers into a group hug, which they greatly accepted and gathered him into a tight brotherly hug, before they released him a moment later and listened as Celestia spoke once more.

_'I take that…you have made your decision, Michelangelo…?" _

"Yeah…I've decided to accept your plan…I'll combine my light with yours, Celestia…we're going to need all the help we can get, especially yours…so please, tell me what I need to do to make this work…!" Mikey answered in a serious and determined tone.

_'Very well…the only thing you need to do…is to say the incantation of the spell…that will immediately combine our lights together…and that is 'Fiat Lux!'…' Celestia explained the answer to Mikey's question clearly._

"I've heard of those words before in a song one time during my days in the cornfield; it means 'Let there be light!' in Latin, correct?" Donnie said curiously.

_'You are correct, Donatello…' Celestia confirmed before she spoke again towards Mikey. 'Now… are you ready, Michelangelo…?'_

"Yeah…everybody, stand back…this is about to get big…!" Mikey answered with a nod before he signaled his brothers to step away at a further distance from him to avoid getting caught in whatever might hit them once Mikey says the incantation. As soon as he knew that his brothers were at a suitable distance from him, Mikey resumed his focus on the Medallion and spoke.

"Ok…Celestia…Fiat Lux!"

After shouting out the incantation, the Medallion began to glow and shine even brighter than it was earlier before Mikey's body started to glow in the similar orange aura as the Medallion. Soon, they were both engulfed in a ball of light, which rose up slightly from the ground.

"W-What da ya think is happenin' in there?" Raph questioned nervously as he watched the ball of light rise from the ground into mid-air.

"I'm not sure, Raph, but I've got a feeling that something big is about to happen…" Leo answered Raph whilst keeping an eye on the ball of light.

Leo's feelings were correct, because inside the ball of light Mikey was in the process of undergoing an incredible transformation; his body was being coated in golden scale-like armour and large wings sprouted from his armoured back, and his head was given a helmet that resembled that of a dragon's head with Mikey's face being visible through the helmet's mouth. The gem inside the Medallion of Light around his neck began to metamorphose into the shape of a dragon, but not as solid as it once was many years ago and was instead a body of light that had now become tethered with Mikey's body which was riding on top of it.

Once the transformation was completed, the ball of light began to slowly dissolve until it revealed the new form of Mikey and Celestia combined. This caused the older turtles and the Warlord Shredder's minions to look on in shock and awe.

"Whoa…dat's really...Mikey and Celestia?" Raph said with wide eyes as he looked at Mikey's new form from top to bottom.

"Yeah…they both fused their lights together to not only create a new form for Mikey but also a new body for Celestia!" Donnie answered as he studied Mikey's new form.

The newly formed duo slowly descended towards the ground, with Mikey landing on the ground's surface after getting off of Celestia who still hovered above him, before Mikey looked at his brothers as they gathered around him and spoke with a warm smile.

"Hey, bros…what do you think?"

"Wow, Mikey…you look…" Donnie answered first with wide eyes and a flustered look before an awestruck Raph cut him off and finished the sentence for him.

"Incredible…!"

"Yeah, you definitely look ready to do this, Mikey…! Are you feeling ok to fight?" Leo said in agreement to what Raph just said before his excitement turned to concern when he said the last sentence.

"Don't worry, Leo; I won't push myself to the brink of collapsing, ok? As long as you guys are with me, I'll be ok…" Mikey replied in a reassuring tone before he held his hand out in the middle of the brotherly circle. Leo, Raph, and Donnie understood the gesture and followed his lead by placing their hands on top of his and on each others' hands before Mikey spoke.

"Alright, bros…let's put an end to the Warlord Shredder's evil wrath, once and for all! Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" His brothers replied loudly.

"Turtle bros, forever!" Mikey then said.

"Turtle bros, forever!" His brothers cheered as they lifted their hands up into the air. A moment later, Celestia spoke up in a now majestic tone.

"Young warriors, it is time…"

The turtles nodded before Mikey flapped his wings and lifted himself off the ground whilst his three older brothers climbed up onto Celestia's back, and they both then took to the sky where the dragon daemon Warlord Shredder awaited them once more.


	19. Chapter 19-The Final Showdown

Chapter 19-The Final Showdown

Mikey and Celestia, with the three older turtles on her back, ascended higher into the dark sky until they soon came face-to-face with the daemon dragon Warlord Shredder around a few meters away. They all looked at him with angry but determined faces as the evil dragon observed the group with a sickening grin before Celestia spoke up first.

"We meet again, _Shredder_…! To think that Ragnerus would use his dark power to merge with Oroku Saki and evolve into such a monstrous form…your evil rein ends here!"

"Ah, ha ha ha ha…I'd be delighted to see you try since you failed to destroy me completely the last time we fought…!" The Warlord Shredder replied darkly with a chuckle whilst still wearing his evil smile.

"We already know the story about the battle between you and Celestia during the war in the land of Oz, Shredder…and I will tell you now that things will not end the same as how it was back then because we will stop you for good!" Mikey countered back firmly with a determined look on his face.

"Yeah!" "Meow!" The three older turtles and Klunk, who was hiding in Donnie's hat seconds earlier, cheered at Mikey's words before Leo spoke next.

"You will pay for your heinous crimes, including the murder of my best friend Usagi and the innocent people from my village!"

"So, the cowardly lion-cloaked turtle has finally found the courage to stand up against me, huh…? Well, let's see if your fighting abilities are stronger than your words!" The Warlord replied with slight astonishment at Leo's change in personality since he last saw him, before he opened his mouth and began to create a large ball of dark energy.

"Uh oh…Watch out!" Mikey cried out as he landed and held onto Celestia's head before he watched as the Warlord released his energy ball towards Celestia, who opened her mouth and let out a mighty roar which caused the energy ball to explode instantly and create a shroud of dark purple smoke.

Seeing this as an opportunity to strike undetected, Celestia charged straight through the smoke and tackled the Warlord who did not see the attack coming and was struggling to get free from the light dragon's grip. It wasn't until a moment later that he figured out that he could still use his tail freely so he whipped Celestia's face hard with his tail, causing the light dragon to loosen her grip and release him. The Warlord then created another large ball of dark energy and fired it towards Celestia who, after composing herself from being slapped by the dark creature's tail, saw the attack coming and created a large ball of light and fired it towards the incoming attack. The two balls of energy soon collided with each other, but Celestia's was stronger than the Warlord's, and it destroyed the dark energy ball and continued its route towards the evil daemon himself.

As he watched this happen, Mikey noticed that the light energy ball had shrunk slightly due to the impact between it and the dark energy ball, so he decided to give it a boost by surrounding himself in a light orange aura and charged towards the light energy ball and merge with it to create an attack form similar to that of a shooting star. Before the Warlord could make a move, Mikey shot speedily towards him and struck him head-on, causing an explosion upon impact.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Celestia, the three turtles, and Klunk saw Mikey coming back towards them whilst wincing and breathing heavily since the impact had not only caused some damage to the Warlord but to himself as well.

"Mikey, are you ok!?" Leo asked in concern whilst the others looked at him with worried faces.

"Y-Yeah, just a few scratches and bruises…I-I'm ok…" Mikey reassured his brother whilst rubbing one of his sore arms.

"Michelangelo, you must be more careful about how far you fly away from me because the tether that binds us can only take so much strain before it breaks and both of us will lose a great amount of energy!" Celestia warned in concern to Mikey who nodded in understanding before they looked back at the Warlord who suddenly started to chuckle darkly.

"Hmmm…Impressive…but you have forgotten that things have changed since our last battle…" He said before he roared and his body began to glow in a powerful dark aura.

Celestia, the four turtles, and Klunk all watched on in shock and uncertainty as they did not know what was going to happen next, but they didn't have to wait long as the dark aura flashed brightly with a boom, causing everyone to shield their eyes. When they removed their hands/arms from their eyes, they looked on in horror; the Warlord had grown slightly bigger than his original size from earlier and his eyes and body were glowing in a dark purple hue.

"What the…!? Did he just get stronger!?" Donnie said whilst still stunned at what he was seeing.

"Not only that, but he's also gotten bigger!" Leo answered as fear slowly built up inside him as soon as he saw the Warlord Shredder's form.

"Oh, great…Dis fight just keeps gettin' better and better!" Raph then said in an annoyed and frustrated tone when he saw how big and strong the Warlord had become.

"Calm yourselves, young ones…we must not let this beast's power intimidate us into backing down!" Celestia said firmly but calmly to the three older turtles after sensing their concerns and fears within them.

"Celestia's right, bros; we've come this far for us to just give up now…! We gotta stay strong and finish this!" Mikey said in agreement with a determined look on his face. His brothers recollected themselves and nodded to Mikey's words before they all looked at the Warlord Shredder who chuckled evilly once again.

"Fools…you do not realise that I now have more power than anyone of you combined…and you will all bow down to it!" The Warlord said before he produced a dark sphere which then broke apart into dozens of smaller spheres and began to shoot towards Celestia and the turtles in the form of arrows.

"Heads up!" Mikey cried out before he and Celestia quickly moved to try and dodge all of the dark arrows that were coming towards them at full speed.

Mikey swerved and back-flipped in the air whilst blocking and slashing any of the dark arrows with his spinning nun-chucks in order to prevent them from hitting him and Celestia, who was close to him and was using the serpentine technique to avoid the dark arrows. The older turtles, meanwhile, did their best to defend themselves and Celestia from the dark arrows with their weapons whilst Klunk hid back inside Donnie's hat to protect himself.

However, one of the arrows was too fast and, by the time Leo saw it coming towards him, it was too late.

"Aarrgh!" He yelled out in pain as the arrow struck him hard on the left side of his chest and shoulder before he fell off of Celestia's back and began to descend towards the ground.

"Leo!" "Leonardo!" Everyone shouted in horror before Mikey immediately dove after him.

As he was getting closer to Leo, Mikey not only felt the strain of the light tether connected to him and Celestia, which was even more painful than before, but he also noticed another dark arrow heading their way and was about to hit the lion-cloaked turtle. Not taking any chances, Mikey moved in front of Leo as he caught him to shield him from the attack which had hit him in the back, causing him to yell in pain before he and Leo continued their descent towards the ground, with Celestia and the other turtles quickly following them from behind.

Despite his injury, Mikey managed to land carefully on the Earth's surface with an unconscious Leo in his arms onto the ground near a large rock to hide before he laid him flat to assess the damage caused by one of the dark arrows. Luckily, it didn't penetrate the skin too deeply since it wasn't bleeding heavily but it did cause serious burns to his skin on his left shoulder and chest. With this in mind, Mikey reached for his bag to take out the necessary first aid items needed to treat Leo's wound, but the pain in his back made it difficult for him to move his arms and the strain from being too far apart from Celestia was also affecting him by making him feel slightly dizzy and spiritually weaker. Just then, Celestia appeared at his side and Donnie and Raph immediately jumped off of her back and ran straight towards the two injured turtles.

"Leo! Mikey!" Donnie called out to them with a worrying tone.

"Are you alright!?" Raph then said as he and Donnie reached them.

"G-Guys…Ngh…!" Mikey replied as he tried to turn and look at Raph and Donnie but the pain and weakness prevented him from doing so.

"Stay still, Mikey…" Donnie said immediately after noticing how drained and in pain Mikey looked before he assessed his injury.

"W-Wait…L-Leo first, please…" Mikey pleaded desperately since Leo got hit first and he was unconscious.

"Alright…Here, Raph put pressure on Mikey wound with this whilst I check Leo's wound…" Donnie said with a sigh as he passed a cloth, which was soaked in water and wrung out, to Raph who immediately cleaned and applied pressure on Mikey's wound before Donnie went straight to work with treating Leo's wound. Klunk then appeared from his hiding place in Donnie's hat and ran over to his master to comfort him by rubbing himself on his arms and legs.

"Ya doin' alright, bro? Ya don't look so hot…" Raph asked Mikey after he noticed how pale and exhausted he looked.

"I…I think…I overdid it a little…and went too far away…from Celestia…" Mikey answered breathlessly before he looked over at Celestia, who was looking at the turtle brothers with a concerned look on her face and spoke again. "I'm sorry…Celestia…"

"Don't be, young one…you risked putting your own safety as well as your life to protect your friend…it is I who should apologise to you for making you go through all of this with me…" Celestia replied before she bowed her head slightly and said, "I am sorry…"

"Hey…it's our mission ta stop Shred Head fa good and bring back dat Kuro Kabuto thing back ta da Great Wizard of Oz, so no-one is ta blame fa dis!" Raph said firmly to the light dragon whilst he tended to Mikey's wound which was no longer bleeding.

"Urgh…Ngh…" The sound of groaning suddenly startled the turtles and Celestia and they turned to see that Leo was starting to come around.

"Leo?" Donnie called softly to the lion-cloaked turtle whilst holding him carefully to reduce his movements that might lead to aggravating the wound. A moment later, Leo's eyes slowly opened and he moved his head to the right to see Donnie next to him wearing an anxious but relieved look on his face when he saw that Leo was awake.

"Wha…D-Don…?" Leo rasped in a stutter before he winced at the pain he was feeling from his shoulder and chest.

"Easy, Leo…You're hurt, so don't try to get up…" Donnie said immediately as soon as he caught Leo trying to get up from where he was laid. Leo obeyed Donnie's words before he turned his head to the left to see Raph tending to Mikey who was breathing heavily and a face full of pain.

"Mikey…? A-Are you ok…!?" He said worryingly.

"Leo, thank shell you're awake…I'm ok, bro…It's nothing serious…" Mikey replied as he breathed through the pain that he was currently feeling whilst Raph patched him up with a clean bandage.

"Stop tryin' ta act all tough, Mikey…both of ya are badly hurt cos of dat Warlord jerk…" Raph said gruffly as he finished tying the bandage that was wrapped on his back whilst avoiding his wings, causing Mikey to sigh in defeat after hearing those words before he said, "Sorry…".

Before anyone could reply to Mikey's apology, a loud roar was suddenly heard from above where the group was positioned. They all looked up with wide eyes to see the Warlord Shredder appearing in front of them from a distance and was looking at them with an evil grin.

"So, have you had enough of my power? Very well, then…I will now finish you all with another taste of it!" He said before his body began to glow brightly with a dark purple hue once more.

Then, everyone watched in horror as the Warlord's body surrounded itself with powerful energy to form a giant energy sphere before they heard his dark voice again. "Since this world is filled with weak fools who only want to get in my way, I will destroy it instead!"

"You are insane, Shredder! You will also be destroyed by your own attack!" Celestia pointed out angrily.

The Warlord didn't hear her warning and, instead, he began his descent towards the land of Oz., causing everyone to look on and gasp in horror.

"No! If he lands, then everything in Oz will be destroyed with it!" Donnie pointed out with panic in his voice.

Mikey looked on at the descending mass of darkness for another minute before he closed his eyes and lowered his head with a sigh as he thought about his last resort attack. He then looked up at Celestia with a determined look on his face before he spoke.

"Celestia…We can't let him do this…!"

"You are right, Michelangelo…I can sense in your heart that you have made up your mind on what we need to do to save Oz from this evil…" Celestia replied in understanding since her connection between her and Mikey allowed them to share their thoughts with each other. Mikey began to slowly attempt to stand up on his feet but Raph immediately held him steady as soon as he saw him move.

"Whoa, Mikey, stay down! Both you and Leo shouldn't be movin' right now!" He said firmly but with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, Raph…let me go…" Mikey said in a quiet but serious tone as he shook Raph off of him and slowly stood up before he began to walk towards Celestia despite the pain and spiritual weakness that was currently ailing him.

"W-Wait…Mikey, w-what are you doing?" Leo said shakily as he slowly sat up, with the help of Donnie, whilst looking over at Mikey with a nervous look on his face. Mikey turned to look at Leo and the others before he spoke.

"I-I…There is one way to stop Warlord Shredder's attack…but only me and Celestia can do this…because both of our lights need to become one in order to create an attack powerful enough to succeed in stopping the Warlord Shredder for good…"

The three turtles took a moment to let Mikey's words sink in before Donnie, Leo, and Raph realised what the orange-banded turtle meant.

"This is…just like back in the past…when Celestia…" Leo said next as he reflected on the story that the Great Wizard told them about.

"No…Mikey, No! Don't do it!" Raph then shouted as soon as he figured out the last piece of the puzzle to Mikey's plan.

"Mikey…Don't tell me you're going to go through with this…!" Donnie then said whilst in shock.

"I am sorry, young warriors…but we do not have a choice…" Celestia said firmly but sadly to back up Mikey's words before she looked at the orange-banded turtle and spoke again. "Are you ready, Michelangelo?"

Mikey took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Celestia…", before he turned to his older brothers and Klunk and spoke again but with a sad smile and tears developing in his eyes. "We all know that this attack may cost me my life, but _if _it does…I want you all to know that…I love you all and that it has been an honour to be your friend and brother…also, I want to say sorry for not being with you for when you get your wishes granted, just in case I don't make it out alive…"

The three older brothers had tears falling from their eyes as Mikey spoke before they got up and gathered around him, with Donnie helping a wounded Leo, and then gave him a big brotherly hug whilst minding his and Leo's wounds.

"I know that you can do this, Mikey…I believe in you…" Leo spoke first with a watery but warm smile.

"Yeah…you didn't give up on us, so we won't give up on you!" Donnie said next with determination before Klunk meowed in agreement with him.

"Dat's right! I know dat ya will make it through dis, Mike...! All of us will get our wishes granted, no matter what!" Raph said firmly in agreement with a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

Mikey looked at his brothers and cat Klunk one last time with a watery but warm smile of his own before he nodded and said, "Thank you, my brothers…". He then turned around and took flight with Celestia towards Warlord Shredder.

"It is time, Michelangelo…" Celestia said firmly but calmly to Mikey who nodded in understanding before his body and eyes began to glow in a warm orange aura, with Celestia doing the same seconds later.

The older turtles and Klunk watched in awe as Mikey and Celestia merged their two glowing bodies together to create their light-filled attack, which resembled that of a large shooting star since it was developed whilst the duo headed towards Warlord Shredder's incoming attack.

Soon, both attacks were at close range to each other, but Mikey and Celestia both expected this and they released even more of their light to increase their attack's power just before it made contact with the huge mass of dark energy, and then…

BOOOOOMMM!

The whole scene became shrouded in a huge flash of light after the two attacks impacted one another, causing the older turtles and Klunk to cover their eyes instantly...before everything went silent a moment later.


	20. Chapter 20-Free and Now at Peace

Chapter 20-Free and Now at Peace

The sun shined through the dark clouds as they faded away in the now clear blue sky.

The three turtle brothers and Klunk were laid flat on the now grass-covered ground before they slowly opened their eyes after they passed out from the shock wave made by the two huge attacks when they exploded after clashing against each other. Once everyone was more awake they carefully got up whilst groaning due to their sore muscles, with Leo mainly groaning from the pain caused by his wound, and they all looked at the scenery around them in awe; the whole field was covered in fresh green grass and flowers, and trees filled with various fruits have also grown which attracted many birds and mammals to the area. There was also no sign of both the Warlord Shredder and Celestia and Mikey so, after a moment of silence, Raph spoke in an anxious tone when he noticed this first.

"Guys…W-Where's Mikey?"

Leo and Donnie looked at Raph before they looked at each other with anxious looks of their own as they too realised that Mikey was nowhere to be seen from where they were standing. Then, Klunk noticed something gleaming from a couple of miles away up north where the battle took place and jumped off of Donnie's shoulder with a meow to start running towards where it was before stopping to meow a signal to them to say 'follow me'. The turtle brothers understood what Klunk was telling them despite feeling confused about why he suddenly took off in the first place and they followed him to wherever he was taking them.

As the group was halfway, they noticed something lying still on the ground with flowers of gold surrounding it, and it was then that they recognised the body as Michelangelo's!

"MIKEY!"

The turtle brothers yelled out his name in shock when they knew who it was on the ground before they hastened their pace to get to him quicker. As soon as they reached him, they discovered that Mikey was no longer wearing his golden armour and his body was covered in cuts and bruises, and they also saw that the gem within the Medallion of Light was floating above Mikey's body whilst glowing brightly. On closer inspection, Mikey's face was still and looked like he wasn't breathing.

"Mikey? Mikey, are you alright?" Leo spoke first as he gently shook the orange-banded turtle's shoulder to try and wake him up, but he was given no response, causing him to panic and fear for the worst.

"Mike…? Get up, bro…! We won!" Raph then said desperately before he lightly tapped Mikey's cheek with his hand to get him to respond, which again showed no response from Mikey.

"Mikey, wake up! Please! We made a promise, remember?" Donnie said anxiously before he held Mikey's hand and placed his fingers on his wrist to try and find a pulse. After a minute of waiting, Donnie's eyes went wide and tears began to develop as he discovered that there wasn't one.

"N-No…no, no, no!" He whispered before his voice got louder at the last part of his sentence whilst he shook his head in despair over his discovery.

"Donnie? No, don't tell me…" Leo said in confusion and anxiety before he heard the words that he did not want to hear.

"H-He…He's gone…" Donnie announced tearfully before he leaned his head down and onto Mikey's shoulder as he cried his heart out.

Leo and Raph looked at the turtle scarecrow in shock and horror before they looked at Mikey, who still showed no signs of waking up.

"Mikey, no…Don't leave us behind, bro…!" Raph said sadly before oily tears began to develop and fall from his now-closed eyes.

"Mikey…you can't break your promise and leave us without getting our wishes granted first…wake up, please! MIKEY!" Leo said tearfully before he screamed out Mikey's name in despair and leaned closer to Mikey's head to affectionately rest it with his own whilst he continued sobbing his heart out.

Whilst the turtles grieved over the loss of their little brother and friend, Klunk was staring at the floating and glowing gem ever since he and the turtles got closer to Mikey's body. Just then, he meowed with a start of fright when the gem suddenly flashed and a soft but strong voice was heard from it.

_"Young ones…"_

The three crying turtles slowly looked up towards the gem as soon as they heard the voice.

"C-Celestia…!?" Donnie said with a stutter as he tried but failed to wipe away the falling tears from his eyes.

It was just after Donnie spoke that the gem glowed more brightly and slowly formed into a dragon's body once more, but its physical appearance was slightly transparent because the energy was weaker than it was earlier before the last battle between them and Warlord Shredder. A moment after the transformation, Celestia spoke again.

"My young warriors…do not despair…Michelangelo's spirit…is still within his body…but it is very weak…"

"B-But…how can he be alive…?! He doesn't have a pulse, and he's not breathing!" Leo replied firmly but sadly as he looked back and forth from Celestia to Mikey with tears still streaming down his face. Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement with Leo's words.

"You forget, young ones…that Michelangelo and I…share a special bond…which allows us to sense…each other's spiritual energy…" Celestia countered back softly before she spoke again with a warm smile. "I sense that his heart is beating faintly…"

The three turtles looked at each other after hearing Celestia's words before they nodded in understanding and turned to look at Mikey's still form once more. Donnie was the first to curiously lean his ear close to Mikey's chest to listen out for his heart. Then, he heard it;

_Ba-dump… … Ba-dump… …_

A faint but clear heartbeat was heard within Mikey's chest walls, causing Donnie to gasp before he looked up at the others and spoke with surprised eyes.

"S-She's right…his heart's still beating, but just barely!"

"What!?" "Really!?" Leo and Raph said at the same time as soon as they heard those words. Donnie nodded before he looked at Celestia and asked her a question.

"Celestia, what can we do to help him!?"

Celestia looked at the purple-banded turtle scarecrow with her warm smile still on her face as she spoke in a gentle but encouraging tone.

"His spirit has not only weakened…but it has also lost its way after the impact from the final blow…If you believe in him…and guide him back to you…Michelangelo will find his way…and he will be well again…"

After nodding in understanding, Donnie turned back to look at Mikey before he held his hand with his own as he spoke.

"Mikey, you were my first official friend…ever since I was placed on that pole back in the cornfield I thought that I was going to be alone forever…but when you came along and accepted me for who I was since I don't have a brain, I was so happy…because not only was I accepted as a friend but also a brother by you… so, please…wake up, little brother…I know you can do it! I want to see your smile shine brightly again, especially since you and Celestia have finally put an end to the Warlord Shredder's evil for good…"

"Yeah! Come on, Mikey…you're stronger than dis! Even stronger than me, and ya never gave up on me when I said dat it would be impossible fa me ta have a new heart of my own...so, please…open your eyes again, bro…cos it's breakin' my heart ta see ya like dis, even though I don't have one yet…!" Raph then said next as he followed Donnie's lead by firmly but gently placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"Mikey…you were the most amazing turtle that I have ever met…you understood my feelings for why I was a cowardly turtle back in the forest and my determination to redeem myself for what happened to my village in the past…you're like a little brother to me and I love you so much…I've already lost a best friend…I'm not ready to lose another person I care about…so, please…come back to us, little brother!" Leo said last with all his heart as he grabbed one of Mikey's hands and held it firmly but gently before he nuzzled it with his tear-filled face. Klunk walked towards Mikey's head and began rubbing his furry body against it to encourage his master into waking up.

After an anxious couple of minutes, everyone held their breath when they suddenly saw Mikey's eyes twitch before his head moved back and forth slightly.

"N-Ngh…" They then heard Mikey grunt quietly before Donnie and Leo felt their hands being squeezed weakly by Mikey's own hands.

"Mikey?" Leo said after a moment of silence before he returned the squeeze with his own hand.

Then, everyone watched as Mikey's eyes twitched again before they slowly began to open.

"Oh, my…!" Donnie whispered in awe as he couldn't believe that Mikey was finally coming round.

Soon, Mikey's eyes were fully open and were slowly coming into focus before Mikey moved his head back and forth again to see his brothers, Klunk, and Celestia looking at him with shocked but surprised looks on their faces, causing him to produce a small smile on his own face before he spoke in a whisper-like voice.

"M-My…b-bros…"

"MIKEY!" The three older brothers cried out in relief and joy as Leo gathered Mikey's upper body and hugged him firmly but gently, with Raph and Donnie surrounding the two and giving them a big brotherly hug. Celestia watched the scene taking place in front of her with a warm and relieved smile on her face.

"Oh, Mikey…thank goodness you're awake again...I was so scared that history was repeating itself…" Leo said softly with tears still falling down his face as he slightly released Mikey and looked at his face which featured a small tired smile.

"I-It's…ok…Leo…I-I'm…sorry…for…worrying you…and…everyone else…" Mikey replied breathlessly and in a raspy voice due to his weakened state.

"Don't be, Mikey…no-one knew what was going to happen during the battle against the Warlord Shredder…you took the risk in losing your own life because you wanted to save everyone who lives in the land of Oz from the evil reign of the Warlord Shredder…" Donnie said as he gently placed a comforting hand on Mikey's cheek.

"Yeah, we're all proud of ya fa doin' that, bro…just don't scare us like dat again, alright?" Raph then said with a smirk as he gently squeezed Mikey's shoulder.

Mikey smiled at his older brothers even more before he felt Klunk rubbing his own furry body against his plastron whilst purring with joy overseeing his master awake once more. Then, Mikey and the others turned their heads towards Celestia when they noticed that her warm glow was growing even brighter than before.

"C-Celestia…?" Mikey called out to her weakly but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Michelangelo…I cannot thank you and your companions enough…for helping me put an end…to that vile demon once more…Now, it is time for me to go…" Celestia replied warmly as her body glowed more brightly.

"Wait, ya not comin' back with us ta Emerald City ta tell da Great Wizard about our mission bein' completed!?" Raph questioned in shock and surprise after hearing that Celestia was going to leave soon. It was then that an important memory suddenly popped up in Donnie's head.

"The Kuro Kabuto! The Great Wizard wanted us to bring it back with us as proof of victory once we defeated the Warlord Shredder!" He said with wide eyes.

"You're right, Don! Where is it…?" Leo said before he looked around almost frantically to try and figure out where the helmet was.

"Do not fret, young ones…the evil demon's helmet is right here…it is now yours to do as you wish with it…" Celestia said calmly as she pointed at the ground underneath her.

Klunk jumped off of Mikey's plastron and ran towards where Celestia was pointing, and he walked through the grass and parted it as he sat next to the now battered Kuro Kabuto. The turtles smiled and breathed a sigh of relief before Donnie stood up and walked towards Klunk and picked up the helmet, and then he and Klunk walked back to Mikey, Raph, and Leo before they all heard Celestia speak again.

"You have all done well, young turtle warriors…I can now move on with happiness in my soul…knowing that peace has at last been restored…within the whole land of Oz…"

"C-Celestia…thank you…for…looking out…for us…and…helping us…" Mikey said as he looked up at Celestia with a tired but grateful smile.

"No, Michelangelo…thank you for freeing me with your powerful light…and your caring and fun nature were what helped…in keeping your companions safe and motivated…" Celestia replied as she looked from Mikey to the older turtles as she said the last part of her sentence before her body began to fade in the bright light as she spoke one more time.

"Farewell, my young turtle warriors…and thank you… for I am now free…and at peace…"

And with that, Celestia closed her eyes as her body was completely engulfed in the bright light before it, with the gem within it, shot higher into the sky and faded away completely. The turtles and Klunk looked on in awe before Mikey slowly leaned against Leo's plastron with a yawn and drooping eyes.

"Mikey, you ok?" Leo asked the orange-banded turtle in a concerned tone, causing the other two turtles to look at him in the same way.

"Y-Yeah…just…tired…" Mikey answered quietly with half-open eyes, but everyone was able to hear him and they smiled warmly at him.

"I hear ya, bro…even though I'm a tin turtle, I feel like I can sleep fa a week…" Raph said with a smirk.

"Well, as soon as we get back to Emerald City and have spoken to the Great Wizard, we can have as much sleep as we want…" Donnie said with a tired smile.

"Agreed…But the question is; who's going to carry a sleeping Mikey?" Leo said with an amused smile as he looked down at Mikey who had fallen asleep against his plastron shortly after Raph spoke, causing the other two turtles to look at him in surprise before they too smiled in amusement.

"Man, he's already out like a light…" Raph said with Donnie nodding in agreement before he spoke.

"Yeah...saving the world can really do a number on you…Do you think you can carry him, Raph? My body is not strong enough to hold Mikey's weight and Leo is still too injured to carry him…"

"Sure thing, Donnie…I may be made of tin, but I'm da strongest in da group…" Raph replied with a nod before he carefully took Mikey out of Leo's arms and held him in his own in a bridal-style hold.

Just as they were ready to head back to Emerald City, a voice echoed around them.

"Halt!"

The turtles froze before they turned around to see who yelled out to them. To their surprise and shock, it was the Foot Soldiers and minions that they encountered earlier in the Warlord Shredder's castle lair!

Raph growled at them whilst slightly tightening his hold on a still sleeping Mikey whilst Donnie and Leo, despite his injuries, instantly got in front of Raph and Mikey and grabbed their weapons to prepare themselves in case the enemy decided to attack. Leo then stood forward one step and spoke.

"What do you want?"

"The Warlord Shredder…what happened to him? We all saw the battle with our own eyes, but we did not see what happened after a huge flash of light appeared…" One of the soldiers answered before one of the flying monkeys shrieked and pointed at the battered Kuro Kabuto in Donnie's hands.

"That helmet…it's the Kuro Kabuto! Does that mean…?" The soldier said with wide eyes as he looked from the Kuro Kabuto to the turtles.

"The Warlord Shredder is no more…Mikey and Celestia the Light Dragon made sure of that…We're all exhausted from the battle, but if you're all here to fight us to get revenge on us for ending that evil monster's life, then so be it!" Leo answered firmly and bravely before he readied his katanas to prepare himself for a possible battle with the Warlord Shredder's army.

"The Warlord is dead…?" "They killed him…?" "Is he really gone!?"

The soldiers and flying monkeys looked at each other as they spoke in confusion and uncertainty as they weren't sure that what they're hearing is true, but when they all looked at the battered helmet and then the condition that the turtles were in, they turned silent. Then, suddenly;

"HURRAY!" "WOO HOO!" "The wicked Warlord is dead!"

The turtles looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces after they saw and heard the Foot army cheer and shout happily when they realised that the Warlord Shredder was dead.

"Erm…Did we miss somethin' out here?" Raph said with a raised eyebrow before he and his brothers, except Mikey who was still asleep despite the loud cheering going on, heard another one of the soldiers speak.

"We were all trapped in that wicked Warlord's rule by force for so long, and it's thanks to you and the great Dragon of Light that we are all finally free to return to our homes and live our lives once more!"

"So…you're not going to avenge the Warlord and attack us?" Donnie asked cautiously.

"Of course not! We're all extremely grateful to you four turtles for freeing us from that evil demon's control… thank you all!" Another soldier replied before he bowed after saying thank you to the turtles, with the rest of the army following his lead and bowing to them as their way of thanking them, surprising the turtles.

"W-What about the Kuro Kabuto? Can we take it?" Leo asked with a slight tint of nervousness in his voice.

"Yes, take it! Do whatever you want with it because we don't want to see it ever again since it belonged to that evil Warlord…!" The same soldier answered immediately with a nod.

"Err…thank you…" Donnie said awkwardly since he was talking to his and his brothers' former enemies who all nodded in response before one of them spoke.

"Well then, you four had better get going…you all look worse for wear, especially the orange one…" The turtles looked at each other and then at Mikey, who was sleeping quietly but peacefully, and they nodded in understanding and agreement before they turned to the army as Leo spoke.

"Thank you for not thinking about attacking us, and I hope that you all find a place where you can call home and be at peace once more…Farewell…"

"Thank you, turtle warrior…goodbye, and may your journey home be a safe one…" One of the soldiers replied with a wave before he and the rest of the army began to walk away from the turtles, who watched on until they disappeared from their sights.

"Alright, guys…let's go home…" Leo then said with a tired but warm smile after a moment of silence. Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement before they too began their long and tiring journey back to Emerald City.


	21. Chapter 21-Mission Complete and Healing

Chapter 21-Mission Complete and Healing Time

The journey back to Emerald City was a tiring and painful one; with two injured turtles, Raph and Donnie had to walk a slow and steady pace since Leo was struggling to walk with severe burns on his left shoulder and chest whilst Mikey was discovered to have developed a fever not long after the turtles started their walk back, which was worrying Raph the most since he could feel the heat radiating from the orange-banded turtle's skin in his hold.

As a result of this, it took the turtle brothers and Klunk around four hours for them to finally reach the gates of Emerald City and the sun was almost fully set by the time they returned.

When they looked ahead of them, they were surprised to see not only Leatherhead there, but also the Great Wizard standing next to him, both of them wearing smiles of relief on their faces as soon as they saw the group alive and returning to them. However, their relief turned to concern once they saw Mikey unconscious in Raph's arms as soon as the group got closer to the gate.

"My friends…are you alright? Is Michelangelo…?" Leatherhead spoke first in a worried tone as he looked from the three older turtles to Mikey who still hadn't stirred from his slumber.

"Leatherhead, calm yourself…they are all tired and wounded, but they will all be fine after some medical attention and rest…" The Great Wizard said firmly but gently to the worried large reptile before he assessed Mikey's condition and looked over at the older turtles as well. It was then that his eyes widened when he spotted the Kuro Kabuto in Donnie's hands.

"That is…" He said in awe before he heard Donnie speak with a tired smile.

"Great Wizard, the Warlord Shredder is gone and we have returned with the Kuro Kabuto as promised…"

The Great Wizard smiled warmly at the turtle scarecrow before he spoke to the group.

"You have all done well in defeating the Warlord and retrieving the Kuro Kabuto before returning here alive…"

"Well, we had a little help…from Celestia, the Dragon of Light…" Leo then said with a sad smile.

The Great Wizard let out a small gasp in surprise after hearing that the late Dragon of Light was there with the turtles and had helped them during their battle with the Warlord Shredder. He then noticed that the gem in the Medallion of Light, which still hung around Mikey's neck, was gone.

"What happened to Celestia's gemstone?" He questioned curiously.

"After the battle ended with the Warlord's defeat, Celestia felt that she was now free and at peace…and decided that it was time for her to depart into the afterlife…taking the gemstone with her in the process…" Leo answered tiredly before he swayed slightly, which was noticed by Donnie before he helped steady the lion-cloaked turtle.

"Hmm…I see…" The Great Wizard said whilst stroking his beard before he noticed how worn out the turtles looked and spoke again. "You will tell me more about what happened after you have all rested and recovered from your adventure…"

"I was just about ta say da same thing, Great Wizard…! Mike's not doin' so hot here and Leo looks like he's about ta collapse on us!" Raph said in agreement whilst looking back and forth from Mikey to Leo with a concerned look on his face. The Great Wizard nodded to Raph's words and then turned to Leatherhead before he spoke.

"Leatherhead, gather your healing and ailment medicines as well as bandages from your shop, and bring them to me in my home immediately!"

"Yes, Great Wizard!" Leatherhead said without hesitation and quickly made his way back to his shop to gather the much needed medical items that would help heal the turtles. After watching him leave, the Great Wizard turned back to the turtles.

"Come, let us head inside so that you can all rest and recover from your ordeal…" He said in a gentle tone.

"Thank you, Great Wizard…" Donnie replied tiredly but gratefully since, despite not being as badly hurt as Leo and Mikey, his high adrenaline from the whole adventure was starting to wear off and was becoming tired. He, Leo and Raph then followed the Great Wizard back to his home now that he and his brothers were in safe hands once more.

/

_Later in the evening…_

The turtle brothers were all settled in their comfortable makeshift beds after the Great Wizard treated their wounds using Leatherhead's medicines combined with his healing magic. Klunk stayed by his master Mikey's side throughout the healing process and was now laid next to him as he slept peacefully since his fever was reduced to nearly breaking. From his bed, Leo stared tiredly at the sleeping orange-banded turtle with a concerned look on his face as he was worried that the young turtle's condition might change for the worst since he was still very weak from their intense battle with the Warlord Shredder.

"Leo? Ya doin' ok over there?" Raph asked after noticing the blue-banded turtle's behaviour first.

"Huh? O-Oh, err…yeah…sorry, it's just…I can't help but feel worried about Mikey…" Leo answered tiredly and sadly after snapping out of his thoughts and composing himself.

"I know, Leo… he put his own life at risk in order to protect ours and help us in our journey to get our wishes granted…he's been through so much…" Donnie said in agreement as he looked from Leo to Mikey with a concerned look on his face.

"Hey, enough of da doom and gloom…da Great Wizard said dat he'll be fine after some rest, so stop looking like da whole world's gonna end…cos Mike wouldn't want ya ta worry about him just cos he's still a lil' sick!" Raph said firmly with a stern look on his face since he was getting frustrated and tired of hearing negative thoughts about Mikey's condition.

Leo and Donnie looked over at Raph with surprised looks on their faces when they heard his words. It was then that they realised that Raph was right; Mikey might not be well now, but with more rest and TLC he would soon be back on his feet and be by their side for when they get their wishes granted. The two turtles then smiled before Leo spoke.

"You're right, Raph; we should be supporting Mikey through his recovery instead of thinking about the worst-case scenario…"

"I agree…We owe him for helping us get this far, so we should repay him by being there for him and helping him get better!" Donnie said with determination in his voice.

"Dat's da spirit, bros…!" Raph said happily with a smirk before he let out a yawn. "Speakin' of rest, I could do with some of dat myself…"

"Same here…goodnight, guys…" Donnie said in agreement after letting out a yawn himself before he laid his head down on his pillow and fell asleep seconds later.

"Goodnight…" Leo and Raph replied in unison before they too laid their heads down on their pillows and Raph was the next turtle to fall asleep seconds afterward. Before he closed his own eyes, Leo looked over at Mikey and spoke in a quiet tone.

"Goodnight, Mikey…Don't worry…we'll be here when you wake up…"

/

_3 days later…_

Leo, Raph, and Donnie were relaxing in the Great Wizard's room whilst drinking warm tea which the Great Wizard provided for them. Leo was starting to feel a lot better and in less pain, since his wounds were given proper medical treatment by the Great Wizard with the help of Leatherhead's herbal remedies, whilst Raph was treated for any dents or bruising that he had sustained during the mission. Donnie, on the other hand, did not have many serious injuries or ailments, except for the small slashes on his clothing and the exhaustion that he felt during and after the mission.

The three brothers were sitting close to the bed that had a sleeping Mikey laid on top of it with a warm blanket covering him up. They watched as the sleeping turtle's chest rose up and down at a slow but steady pace before Raph spoke up.

"Man, he's been out like a light fa a few days now…When is he gonna wake up and celebrate our victory with us?"

"Raph, he's been through a lot this past week…his body and mind still need time to heal…" Leo answered the tin turtle with a sigh.

"You're right, Leo…and the Great Wizard did say that his healing process would take some time to finish…even Leatherhead's remedies don't have the ability to accelerate Mikey's healing any faster…" Donnie said in agreement with Leo's words before he placed a hand on Mikey's forehead to check his temperature, which he had found to have returned to normal. "Hey, at least his fever is gone…!" He said with a smile.

Leo and Raph sighed in relief after hearing those words before they smiled back at him.

"That means…all he needs to do now is wake up…" Leo said as he gently held one of Mikey's hands with his own.

A moment after saying that, a small hum was heard from the sleeping turtle, surprising the older turtles and Klunk.

"Mikey?" Leo then called out softly to avoid disturbing Mikey, who was slightly moved his head back and forth whilst trying to wake himself up.

"Mmm…ugh…" Mikey groaned and winced in slight pain due to his wounds that were still healing. That was the first response that the three older turtles had received from Mikey since he fell asleep in Leo's arms three days ago.

"It's alright, Mikey…we're here…you're safe, now…" Donnie said soothingly as he held Mikey's other hand in his own.

"Yeah, so rise and shine, bro…!" Raph said with a smirk before he saw Klunk coming over to the group and meowed at his master.

Soon, Mikey's eyes slowly began to open and he squinted for a moment to adjust himself in the bright sunlight before his eyes were fully opened. The first he saw as soon as his vision became clear were his three older brothers and Klunk looking down at him with relieved smiles on their faces.

"G-Guys…" Mikey said in a raspy voice due to the lack of use whilst developing a small but warm smile on his face.

"Mikey!" The turtle brothers cheered before they leaned forward and gave him a gentle hug since his injuries were still tender and healing. After a moment, the three older turtles released Mikey from the hug and looked at him with tears of joy and their smiles still on their faces.

"It's so good to see you awake again, Mikey…" Donnie said first as he wiped away his tears with his hands.

"Yeah! We were worried dat ya wouldn't wake up again, bro…!" Raph said with a sad smile before he heard Leo hum in agreement.

"You've been asleep fa three days straight, you know..." The lion-cloaked turtle confirmed.

"R-Really...!? I-I'm sorry, dudes…I-I was just so tired…I didn't mean to worry you…" Mikey replied tiredly and shakily after hearing that he was out cold for so long.

"Hey, hey…don't apologise, Mikey…! You fought hard with a brave and loving heart…you saved our lives and the whole world of Oz…and that can really tire you out…" Leo pointed out softly as he gently wiped away the now falling tears from Mikey's face.

"That's right, Mikey; we don't blame you for worrying us…we're just glad you're doing ok now…" Donnie said as he gave Mikey's hand a firm but gentle squeeze.

"Yeah…it's all over now…we can finally get our wishes granted without any more problems from dat tin head freak…!" Raph said with a smirk. Mikey's eyes widened slightly after hearing this before he spoke.

"W-What? You…you mean you haven't had your wishes granted yet!?"

"Of course not, Mikey…!" Donnie answered immediately in surprise after hearing those words from Mikey.

"Yeah, bro…! Why would we go and do dat without ya!?" Raph said firmly but softly.

"C-Cos the mission's over…the Warlord's dead…and we're back in Emerald City…" Mikey answered shakily before felt Leo's hand touch his shoulder as he spoke.

"That may be true, Mikey, but we couldn't just walk into the Great Wizard's home and ask him to grant our wishes straight away, especially when we were all exhausted and injured from the final battle with the Warlord…Also, we would never leave you behind and only get our own wishes granted as soon as we were well again…not after everything you've done for us…"

Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement before Mikey's eyes widened even more after hearing that. Here he was lying in his bed and still recovering from his injuries, and the Oz version of his older brothers had stayed by his side until he woke up instead of getting their wishes granted as soon as they were healed. This made Mikey smile and look down with tears of happiness and joy developing in his eyes before he spoke.

"I-I…don't know what to say…T-Thank you…"

"Hey…we're brothers; it's our job to be there for you when you're down, not leave you behind…" Donnie said softly as he gently wiped Mikey's tears away from his face.

"Yeah, and we should be da ones thanking _you _fa bein' there fa us and savin' da whole land of Oz from dat monster, Warlord Shredder…" Raph said in agreement as he rubbed Mikey's head affectionately.

"The people of my village and Usagi can finally rest in peace, now that the evil Warlord has been vanquished forever… and, for that, we're truly grateful to have met and fought alongside an amazing friend and brother like you, Mikey…" Leo said with relief in his heart before he leaned forward to give Mikey a gentle hug, which the young turtle greatly accepted by nuzzling Leo's shoulder since his body was still aching from the final battle.

A moment later, Leo heard Mikey let out a small yawn in his hold, so he released him from the hug and looked at him with a warm smile before he spoke.

"I think you need some more sleep, little brother…"

"Wha…? B-But I've been asleep for three days already…! I can't be tired still…" Mikey said with wide eyes despite trying to keep them open.

"We know, Mikey, but you've been through a lot and your body is still in the process of healing…" Donnie said before he helped Leo in tucking Mikey in with his blanket.

"Yeah…don't worry, bro; everything's alright now, and we'll take care of ya whilst ya gettin' better…" Raph said in agreement with a smirk as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder.

Mikey developed a small smile as he looked at each of his brothers with sleepy eyes before he felt Klunk, who wanted to stay with his master whilst he recovers, climb on top of the bed and curl up next to his head before he fell asleep seconds later. Mikey then felt Leo's hand rubbing his head to try and soothe him to sleep, which was working because he was starting to struggle in keeping his eyes open for much longer.

"Sleep now, Mikey…we'll be here for when you wake up again…" Leo said softly whilst wearing a warm smile on his face.

"M'kay…Love you, bros…" Mikey said sleepily before he closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly whilst still wearing his small smile.

"Love you too, Mikey…" The three older brothers replied quietly before they all took a seat next to Mikey's bed after deciding to stay by his side and watch over him as he continued on with his healing slumber.


End file.
